Accessory, camera, accessory shoe, and connector

ABSTRACT

An accessory capable of communicating with a camera, includes a terminal section having a plurality of terminals. The plurality of terminals include a startup state providing terminal that provides, to the camera, a detection level by which the camera detects that the accessory is capable of being started up, a data signal terminal that outputs a data signal including information regarding the accessory to the camera, and a first reference potential terminal having a reference potential of the detection level and the data signal. The startup state providing terminal is disposed adjacent to the data signal terminal, and the first reference potential terminal is adjacent to the data signal terminal, and is disposed with the data signal terminal interposed between the startup state providing terminal and the first reference potential terminal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Division of application Ser. No. 13/537,835 filedJun. 29, 2012, which in turn is a non-provisional application claimingpriority to the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 61/570,588,filed on Dec. 14, 2011, U.S. provisional application No. 61/576,039,filed on Dec. 15, 2011, and U.S. provisional application No. 61/576,081,filed on Dec. 15, 2011. This application also claims priority toJapanese Patent Application No. 2011-146815, filed on Jun. 30, 2011,Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-146849, filed on Jun. 30, 2011,Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-203439, filed on Sep. 16, 2011,Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-088664, filed on Apr. 9, 2012, andJapanese Patent Application No. 2012-088756, filed on Apr. 9, 2012. Theentire contents of each of the applications identified above areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an accessory, a camera, an accessoryshoe, and a connector.

2. Description of Related Art

Cameras are often used with an accessory such as a flash unit (see, forexample, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0329302). Theaccessory is used by attaching it to an accessory shoe (also called ashoe seat, a hot shoe, or the like) of the camera. The accessory shoehas terminals that supply control signals to the accessory forcontrolling the accessory. The control signals can be transmitted fromthe camera to the accessory through these terminals upon controlling theaccessory.

SUMMARY

A camera system including the camera and the accessory is expected tohave high safety on communication. If the camera system has aninsecurity on communication, usability of the system is deteriorated. Anobject of aspects of the invention is to provide an accessory, a camera,an accessory shoe, and a connector which have high safety oncommunication.

A camera system including the camera and the accessory is expected tohave high electrical safety. An object of aspects of the invention is toprovide an accessory, a camera, an accessory shoe, and a connector whichhave high electrical safety.

In a camera system including the camera and the accessory, satisfactoryusability (high convenience) is expected. When the camera system, forexample, does not respond to a user's operation or causes a responsedelay, usability of the system is deteriorated. An object of aspects ofthe present invention is to provide an accessory, a camera, an accessoryshoe, and a connector which have high convenience.

An accessory according to an aspect of the invention, that is capable ofcommunicating with a camera, includes: a terminal section having aplurality of terminals, wherein the plurality of terminals include astartup state providing terminal that provides, to the camera, adetection level by which the camera detects that the accessory iscapable of being started up, a data signal terminal that outputs a datasignal including information regarding the accessory to the camera, anda first reference potential terminal having a reference potential of thedetection level and the data signal, the startup state providingterminal is disposed adjacent to the data signal terminal, and the firstreference potential terminal is adjacent to the data signal terminal,and is disposed with the data signal terminal interposed between thestartup state providing terminal and the first reference potentialterminal.

An accessory according to an aspect of the invention, that is capable ofcommunicating with a camera, includes: a terminal section having aplurality of terminals, wherein the plurality of terminals include astartup state providing terminal that provides, to the camera, adetection level by which the camera detects that the accessory iscapable of being started up, and a plurality of communication terminalsthat performs the communication, a terminal out of the communicationterminals, which performs a communication of a signal which has apossibility to cause malfunction due to an electric noise, is disposedadjacent to the startup state providing terminal.

An accessory according to an aspect of the invention, that is capable ofcommunicating with a camera, includes: a terminal section having aplurality of terminals, wherein the plurality of terminals include astartup state providing terminal that provides, to the camera, adetection level by which the camera detects that the accessory iscapable of being started up, a light emission control signal terminal towhich a light emission control signal for controlling a light-emittingstate of a light-emitting section is input from the camera, and acommunication control signal terminal to which a communication controlsignal that sets a timing for communicating a data signal includinginformation regarding the accessory to and from the camera is input fromthe camera, the startup state providing terminal is disposed adjacent tothe light emission control signal terminal, and the communicationcontrol signal terminal is adjacent to the light emission control signalterminal, and is disposed with the light emission control signalterminal interposed between the startup state providing terminal and thecommunication control signal terminal.

An accessory according to an aspect of the invention, that is capable ofcommunicating with a camera, includes: a terminal section having aplurality of terminals, wherein the plurality of terminals include astartup state providing terminal to which a detection level, by whichthe camera detects that the accessory is capable of being started up, isprovided from the accessory, a data signal terminal to which a datasignal including information regarding the accessory is input from theaccessory, and a first reference potential terminal having a referencepotential of the detection level and the data signal, the startup stateproviding terminal is disposed adjacent to the data signal terminal, andthe first reference potential terminal is adjacent to the data signalterminal, and is disposed with the data signal terminal interposedbetween the startup state providing terminal and the first referencepotential terminal.

An accessory shoe according to an aspect of the invention, to and fromwhich an accessory capable of communicating with a camera is attachedand detached, includes: a terminal section having a plurality ofterminals, wherein the plurality of terminals include a startup stateproviding terminal to which a detection level, by which the cameradetects that the accessory is capable of being started up, is providedfrom the accessory, a data signal terminal to which a data signalincluding information regarding the accessory is input from theaccessory, and a first reference potential terminal having a referencepotential of the detection level and the data signal, the startup stateproviding terminal is disposed adjacent to the data signal terminal, andthe first reference potential terminal is adjacent to the data signalterminal, and is disposed with the data signal terminal interposedbetween the startup state providing terminal and the first referencepotential terminal.

A connector according to an aspect of the invention, which is attachedand detached to and from a camera capable of communicating with anaccessory, includes: a terminal section having a plurality of terminals,wherein the plurality of terminals include a startup state providingterminal that provides, to the camera, a detection level by which thecamera detects that the accessory is capable of being started up, a datasignal terminal that outputs a data signal including informationregarding the accessory to the camera, and a first reference potentialterminal having a reference potential of the detection level and thedata signal, the startup state providing terminal is disposed adjacentto the data signal terminal, and the first reference potential terminalis adjacent to the data signal terminal, and is disposed with the datasignal terminal interposed between the startup state providing terminaland the first reference potential terminal.

An accessory according to an aspect of the invention, which iscontrolled by a control signal supplied from a camera, includes: aterminal section having a plurality of terminals, wherein the pluralityof terminals include a startup state providing terminal that provides,to the camera, a detection level by which the camera detects that theaccessory is capable of being started up, and the terminal which isdisposed next to the startup state providing terminal, out of theplurality of terminals, is a terminal capable of maintaining a levelstate which is not considered to be the detection level in the startupstate providing terminal, when short-circuited to the startup stateproviding terminal.

A camera according to an aspect of the invention, that supplies acontrol signal for controlling an accessory to the accessory, includes:a terminal section having a plurality of terminals, wherein theplurality of terminals include a startup state detecting terminal towhich a detection level by which the camera detects that the accessoryis capable of being started up is provided from the accessory, and theterminals disposed next to opposite sides of the startup state detectingterminal, out of the plurality of terminals, are terminals capable ofmaintaining a level state which is not considered to be the detectionlevel in the startup state detecting terminal, when short-circuited tothe startup state detecting terminal.

An accessory shoe according to an aspect of the invention, to and fromwhich an accessory controlled by a control signal supplied from a camerais attached and detached, includes: a terminal section having aplurality of terminals, wherein the plurality of terminals include astartup state detecting terminal to which a detection level by which thecamera detects that the accessory is capable of being started up isprovided from the accessory, and the terminals disposed next to oppositesides of the startup state detecting terminal, out of the plurality ofterminals, are terminals capable of maintaining a level state which isnot considered to be the detection level in the startup state detectingterminal, when short-circuited to the startup state detecting terminal.

A connector according to an aspect of the invention, that is capable ofbeing attached and detached to and from a camera so as to attach anddetach an accessory controlled by a control signal supplied from thecamera to and from the camera, includes: a terminal section having aplurality of terminals, wherein the plurality of terminals include astartup state providing terminal that provides, to the camera, adetection level by which the camera detects that the accessory iscapable of being started up, and the terminal disposed next to thestartup state providing terminal, out of the plurality of terminals, isa terminal capable of maintaining a level state which is not consideredto be the detection level in the startup state providing terminal, whenshort-circuited to the startup state providing terminal.

An accessory according to an aspect of the invention includes: a startupstate providing terminal that provides a detection level by which thecamera detects whether the accessory is capable of being started up; aterminal different from the startup state providing terminal; and asetting section that sets a state of the detection level so as toindicate that the accessory is capable of being started up, depending ona voltage level of the different terminal.

A camera according to an aspect of the invention, which is capable ofmounting the accessory according to the above-mentioned aspect, includesa startup state detecting terminal to which the detection level isprovided from the accessory, wherein a terminal different from thestartup state providing terminal in the accessory is provided with apredetermined voltage level for setting the state of the detection levelof the startup state detecting terminal.

An accessory shoe according to an aspect of the invention, to and fromwhich the above-mentioned accessory is attached and detached, includes astartup state detecting terminal to which the detection level isprovided from the accessory, wherein a terminal different from thestartup state providing terminal in the accessory is provided with apredetermined voltage level for setting the state of the detection levelof the startup state detecting terminal.

A connector according to an aspect of the invention, which is attachedand detached to and from a camera that supplies a control signal forcontrolling an accessory to the accessory, includes: a startup stateproviding terminal that provides a detection level by which the cameradetects whether the accessory is capable of being started up; and aterminal different from the startup state providing terminal, wherein asetting section included in the accessory sets a state of the detectionlevel so as to indicate that the accessory is capable of being startedup, depending on a voltage level of the different terminal.

According to aspects of the invention, it is possible to provide anaccessory, a camera, an accessory shoe, and a connector which have highsafety on communication.

In addition, according to aspects of the invention, it is possible toprovide an accessory, a camera, an accessory shoe, and a connector whichhave high electrical safety.

In addition, according to aspects of the invention, it is possible toprovide an accessory, a camera, an accessory shoe, and a connector whichhave high convenience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of a camera systemaccording to an embodiment of the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram when the camera system according to the presentembodiment is viewed from the side opposite to FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of an accessory shoeaccording to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an accessory according to the presentembodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of a connector shoeaccording to the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of thecamera system according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the accessoryaccording to the present embodiment and a connection relationshipbetween the accessory and the camera.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a timing of performing each process ina charging control.

FIG. 9A is a diagram schematically illustrating a connectionrelationship between a startup detection level and a camera controlsection.

FIG. 9B is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of alevel switching section.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes of the camerasystem according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes in acommunication preparation sequence.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes in an initialcommunication sequence.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes subsequent toFIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes in a controlof supplying power to the accessory.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes in a steadycommunication sequence.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes subsequent toFIG. 15.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of setting processes ofmaking each light-emitting function effective or ineffective.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes of thecharging control.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes in thecharging control in the initial communication sequence.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes of thecharging control in the steady communication sequence.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes in an imagecapturing sequence.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes in the imagecapturing sequence for causing an illumination light emitting functionto function.

FIG. 23A is a diagram illustrating a timing of executing each process ofa control prolonging the turn-on time.

FIG. 23B is a diagram illustrating a timing of executing each process ofa control prolonging the turn-on time.

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes ofterminating the process in the accessory.

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes in an initialcommunication sequence of Modified Example 1.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes in a powersupply control of Modified Example 2.

FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes of a chargingcontrol of Modified Example 3.

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating an appearance a camera systemaccording to a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating the camera system according to thepresent embodiment when viewed from the side opposite to that in FIG.28.

FIG. 30 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration ofthe camera system according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the accessoryaccording to the present embodiment and a connection relationshipbetween the accessory and a camera.

FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an accessoryaccording to a third embodiment and a connection relationship betweenthe accessory and the camera.

FIG. 33 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an accessoryaccording to a fourth embodiment and a connection relationship betweenthe accessory and the camera.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described belowin detail. In the following description, components having the same orsimilar structure or functions are assigned the same reference numeralsand signs, and the description thereof may be simplified or omitted.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the appearance of a camera system 1according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustratingthe appearance of the camera system 1 when viewed from the side oppositeto FIG. 1.

The camera system 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a camera 10 and anaccessory 400. The camera 10 includes a camera body 100 and an imagecapture lens 200. The accessory 400, for example, has a light-emittingfunction, and is an external illumination device (attachable to anddetachable from the camera 10) used to illuminate a subject. The camera10 can communicate with the accessory 400 to control the accessory 400.The camera system 1 captures an image of the subject by using the camera10, for example, while illuminating the subject using the accessory 400.

As shown in FIG. 1, the camera 10 includes the camera body 100 and theimage capture lens (interchangeable lens) 200. The image capture lensis, for example, an interchangeable lens. The camera body 100 includes alens mount 11 for installing the image capture lens 200. Meanwhile, theimage capture lens 200 includes a lens-side mount (not-shown) formounting on the camera body 100. The image capture lens 200 isattachable and detachable to and from the lens mount 11 through thelens-side mount. The camera body 100 has a top surface (upper surface)13 on the upper portion of side surfaces facing the lateral side withrespect to a front surface 12 on which the lens mount 11 is arranged,and a back surface 14 on the side opposite to the front surface 12.

The camera body 100 includes a release button 16, an accessory shoe(hereinafter, referred to as a shoe seat 15), and a power switch 31which each are disposed on the top surface 13. Upon detecting operationof the release button 16, the camera 10 performs various types ofprocesses including an imaging process. The shoe seat 15 enablesinstallation of the accessory 400. The power switch 31 is used to switchbetween an on-state and an off-state of the camera body 100.

In the present embodiment, a description may be made of a positionalrelationship and the like of components by setting an XYZ orthogonalcoordinate system shown in FIG. 1 and the like. In this XYZ orthogonalcoordinate system, the Y-axis direction is substantially parallel to thedirection of the optical axis of the image capture lens 200. In the XYZorthogonal coordinate system, the X-axis direction and the Z-axisdirection are respectively orthogonal to the Y-axis direction, and aredirections orthogonal to each other. The front surface 12 and the backsurface 14 are respectively substantially orthogonal to the Y-axisdirection. The top surface 13 is substantially orthogonal to the Z-axisdirection.

The accessory 400 includes an accessory main body 410, a connector 420,and a light-emitting section 425. The light-emitting section 425includes a flash light emitting section 430 and an illumination lightemitting section 435 which are respectively provided with an emissionsurface that emits light. The accessory main body 410 houses theillumination light emitting section 435 and various types of electricalparts and the like. The connector 420 is arranged below the accessorymain body 410. The connector 420 is attachable and detachable to andfrom the shoe seat 15 of the camera body 100. The accessory 400 ismounted on the camera body 100 and is fixed to the camera body 100 bythe mounting of the connector 420 to the shoe seat 15. The flash lightemitting section 430 is arranged on the side (upper side) opposite tothe connector 420 with respect to the accessory main body 410. When theaccessory 400 is mounted on the camera body 100 and the emission surfaceof the flash light emitting section 430 faces to the front surface 12side (+Y direction side) of the camera body 100, the flash lightemitting section 430 can emit flash illumination light (flash light froman Xe tube) in the direction substantially parallel to the optical axisof the image capture lens 200. The flash light emitting section 430 isarranged so as to change (posture change) a direction (posture) of theemission surface with respect to the accessory main body 410. Forexample, the flash illumination light can also be emitted with theemission surface of the flash light emitting section 430 toward theupper side (+Z side) of the accessory main body 410. On the other hand,the illumination light emitting section 435 can emit continuousillumination light (for example, LED illumination light) toward thefront surface 12 side (+Y side) of the camera body 100 (directionsubstantially parallel to the optical axis of the image capture lens200), in a state where the accessory 400 is mounted on the camera body100.

As shown in FIG. 2, the camera body 100 includes a display section 102arranged on the back surface 14, and setting switches 104 also arrangedon the back surface 14. The display section 102 includes a liquidcrystal display element or a display element such as an organicelectroluminescent display element. The display section 102 displays acaptured image, an image indicating various types of settings, an imageindicating a state of the accessory 400, an image indicating the imagingconditions, and the like. The setting switches 104 are operated by theuser of the camera system 1 when changing various types of setting itemsof the camera 10 and the accessory 400. The setting items include atleast one of zoom magnification setting, image capture mode setting,white balance setting, exposure time setting, and display switchingsetting. The image capture mode setting is, for example, automatic modesetting or manual mode setting.

As shown in FIG. 2, the accessory 400 includes a first pilot lamp 455(pilot lamp), a second pilot lamp 460 (pilot lamp), a first operatingportion 424, and a second operating portion 471. The first pilot lamp455 emits light depending on an operation state of the flash lightemitting section 430 shown in FIG. 1. The second pilot lamp 460 emitslight depending on an operation state of the illumination light emittingsection 435 shown in FIG. 1. The first operating portion 424 is anoperation member operated by the user when detaching the accessory 400from the camera body 100 (in other words, the first operating portion424 is a detaching operation member). The second operating portion 471is an operation member operated by the user when switching between anon-state and an off-state of the entire function of the accessory 400(in other words, the second operating portion 471 is an ON/OFF operatingswitch).

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating appearance of the shoe seat 15 of thepresent embodiment. FIG. 4 is a partially perspective plan viewillustrating the shoe seat 15 from the top of FIG. 3 (in the −Z-axisdirection from the top plate portion 22 of FIG. 3).

The shoe seat 15 includes a bottom plate portion 21, a top plate portion22, a side plate portion 23 arranged between the bottom plate portion 21and the top plate portion 22, an opening 24 and a terminal section 25arranged between the bottom plate portion 21 and the top plate portion22.

The bottom plate portion 21 is mounted on the top surface 13 of thecamera body 100 shown in FIG. 1. The bottom plate portion 21 hasinstalling holes 26 used in positioning the shoe seat 15 on the topsurface 13 of the camera body 100, and a locking hole 27 used in lockingthe accessory 400. The bottom plate portion 21 is fixed to the topsurface 13 of the camera body 100 by screws or the like arranged in theinner side of the installing holes 26. In the present embodiment, the+Z-axis direction may be called the “upper side”.

The shape of the top plate portion 22 viewed from the upper side (Z-axisdirection) is substantially U-shaped. The top plate portion 22 overhangsthe inner side further than (more than) the side plate portion 23 asviewed from the upper side (Z-axis direction). The side plate portion 23has a pair of inner walls extending in a predetermined direction (Y-axisdirection) from the opening 24. The pair of inner walls of the sideplate portion 23 is disposed to face each other in the direction (X-axisdirection) orthogonal to the extending direction (Y-axis direction) ofthe inner wall.

The opening 24 opens toward the direction intersecting the direction(Z-axis direction) directed from the bottom plate portion 21 to the topplate portion 22. The opening 24 opens toward the directionsubstantially parallel to the extending direction (Y-axis direction) ofthe inner wall of the side plate portion 23. The dimensions and theshape of the opening 24 are set such that the connector 420 can beinserted in the opening 24.

The terminal section 25 includes a plurality of terminals. The terminalsection 25 shown as an example in FIG. 4 includes twelve terminalsindicated by reference symbols Tp1 to Tp12. The terminals of theterminal section 25 extend in the direction substantially parallel tothe extending direction (Y-axis direction) of the inner wall of the sideplate portion 23. The terminals of the terminal section 25 are arrangedside by side in the direction (X-axis direction) orthogonal to theextending direction of the inner wall of the side plate portion 23. Theterminals of the terminal section 25 are arranged in a region partiallyoverlapping (covered with) the top plate portion 22 as viewed from theupper side.

The terminals may have varying lengths in the Y-axis direction. Forexample, in the present embodiment, the ends of all the twelve terminalsTp1 to Tp12 are flush with each other on the +Y side. However, among thetwelve terminals Tp1 to Tp12, the three terminals Tp1 to Tp3 are longerin the −Y-axis direction than the other terminals indicated by signs Tp4to Tp12. That is, in the present embodiment, the three terminals Tp1 toTp3 protrude further to the −Y side than the other terminals. Asdescribed later, the terminals Tp1 to Tp3 serve as the ground terminals.The reason why these ground terminals are made longer than the otherterminals will be described later.

The accessory 400 is mounted on the shoe seat 15 by inserting theconnector 420 into the opening 24 of the shoe seat 15 and slidablymoving the connector 420 in a predetermined direction (+Y-axisdirection) (see FIG. 1).

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the appearance of the connector 420 ofthe present embodiment. The connector 420 includes a bottom 421, amovable member (hereinafter, referred to as a locking claw 422)protruding from the bottom 421 toward the outside of the connector 420,and a terminal section 423 provided on the bottom 421.

The bottom 421 comes into contact with the bottom plate portion 21 ofthe shoe seat 15 when the connector 420 is mounted on the shoe seat 15.The locking claw 422 is advancable and retreatable (movable) in apredetermined direction. In the present embodiment, the predetermineddirection in which the locking claw 422 advances and retreats is adirection (Z-axis direction) in which the locking claw 422 protrudesfrom the bottom 421. The locking claw 422 can move between a positionprotruding from the bottom 421 and a position housed inside theaccessory 400. The locking claw 422 is biased by springs or the like soas to be pushed from the bottom 421 to the side (−Z side) protrudingoutside the connector 420. While the connector 420 is slidably movedwhen the connector 420 is mounted on the shoe seat 15, the locking claw422 is pushed by the bottom plate portion 21 of the shoe seat 15(receives force) and retreats to the +Z side, and then advances into thelocking hole 27 in a position where the locking hole 27 is formed. Thatis, the connector 420 is configured such that the locking claw 422 islocked to the inner circumferential surface of the locking hole 27 ofthe shoe seat 15, and the movement of the shoe seat 15 is regulated inthe sliding direction (Y-axis direction).

When the connector 420 is inserted into the opening 24, the connector420 is located between the bottom plate portion 21 and the top plateportion 22, and the movement of the shoe seat 15 is regulated in adirection from the bottom plate portion 21 toward the top plate portion22. When the connector 420 is inserted into the opening 24, theconnector 420 is located between a pair of inner walls of the side plateportion 23, and the movement against the shoe seat 15 is regulated in adirection (X-axis direction) from one inner wall of the side plateportion 23 toward the other inner wall thereof.

The first operating portion 424 (see FIG. 2) is an operation memberoperated by the user when moving the locking claw 422 in a predetermineddirection. The first operating portion 424 of the present embodiment isprovided on the back side of the accessory main body 410. The firstoperating portion 424 includes a linkage mechanism that transmits forcereceived by the user's operation to the locking claw 422. The lockingclaw 422 is moved in a predetermined direction (+Z-axis direction ofFIG. 5) by the force received from the linkage mechanism of a firstoperating section 424. That is, when the first operating section 424 isoperated in a state where the locking claw is locked to the locking hole27 shown in FIG. 3, the locking claw 422 is moved to the +Z side so asto retreat from the inner side of the locking hole 27. As a result, theaccessory 400, which was regulated to be at the position against thecamera body 100, is released, and can be detached from the camera body100.

The terminal section 423 includes a plurality of terminals. In theexample shown in FIG. 5, the terminal section 423 includes twelveterminals indicated by reference symbols Ts1 to Ts12.

The number of terminals included in the terminal section 423 is the sameas the number of terminals included in the terminal section 25 of theshoe seat 15. The terminals of the terminal section 423 have aone-to-one correspondence with the terminals of the terminal section 25of the shoe seat 15. When the connector 420 is connected to the shoeseat 15, a certain terminal of the terminal section 423 is in electricalcontact with a corresponding terminal of the terminal section 25 of theshoe seat 15.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of thecamera system 1. As shown in FIG. 6, the image capture lens 200 includesan optical system 210, an optical system driving section 220, and anoptical system control section 230. Light incident on the image capturelens 200 from a subject is incident on the light-receiving surface of animaging device 121 of the camera body 100 through the optical system210.

The optical system 210 includes a plurality of optical components suchas a lens and an aperture, a lens barrel that houses a plurality ofoptical components, and the like. The optical system 210 forms an imagebased on light incident from the outside of the camera body 100.

The optical system driving section 220 includes an actuator that drivesthe optical system 210, an encoder that detects positions of the opticalcomponents in the optical system 210, and a sensor that detects amovement (at least one of a translational movement and a rotationalmovement) of the optical system 210 arising due to shaking or the like.The actuator of the optical system driving section 220 includes, forexample, a focusing control motor, a power zoom control motor, anaperture opening control motor, a vibration reduction (VR) controlmotor, and an expansion and contraction control motor.

The optical system driving section 220 performs a focusing control, azooming control, an exposure control, a VR control, and an expansion andcontraction control of the image capture lens 200 by operating theactuator of the optical system driving section 220 in accordance with acontrol command from the optical system control section 230. Thefocusing control is a control for adjusting the focus of the opticalsystem 210 by moving at least one of the optical components such as alens included in the optical system 210 in the optical axis direction bythe focusing control motor. The zooming control is a control forchanging an imaging angle of view by moving at least one of the opticalcomponents such as a lens included in the optical system 210 in theoptical axis direction by the power zoom control motor. The exposurecontrol is a control for changing the aperture opening size by adjustingthe amount of light incident on the imaging device 121 through theoptical system 210 by driving an aperture constituting the opticalsystem 210 by the aperture opening control motor. The VR control is acontrol for reducing image shaking due to vibration by moving at leastone of the optical components such as a lens included in the opticalsystem 210 in a direction intersecting the optical axis by the VRcontrol motor. The expansion and contraction control is a control forexpanding or contracting the image capture lens 200 in a direction ofthe optical axis by driving the expansion and contraction control motor.

The optical system driving section 220 is supplied with power from abattery BAT housed in a battery compartment 110 of the camera body 100.The optical system driving section 220 is supplied with power from thebattery BAT through the terminals arranged in the lens mount 11 of thecamera body 100. The actuator, the encoder, and the sensor constitutingthe optical system driving section 220 are operated by the powersupplied from the battery BAT.

The optical system control section 230 communicates with a cameracontrol section 170 (described later) of the camera body 100 through theterminals arranged in the lens mount 11 of the camera body 100. Theoptical system control section 230 supplies information indicating adetection result of the encoder and information indicating a detectionresult of the sensor of the optical system driving section 220 to thecamera control section 170. Information supplied from the optical systemcontrol section 230 to the camera control section 170 includes lens typeinformation indicating a type of the image capture lens 200, focallength information of a lens, an aperture value set by the exposurecontrol, focal length information of a subject set by the focusingcontrol, power consumption information, and the like. The powerconsumption information is information that indicates power consumed ina drive state, and changes depending on the lens type information or adriven state.

The accessory 400 includes the flash light emitting section 430, theillumination light emitting section 435, an accessory control section440, and a nonvolatile memory 445. The illumination light emittingsection 435, the accessory control section 440, and the nonvolatilememory 445 are housed in, for example, the accessory main body 410 shownin FIGS. 1 and 2. A detailed description of the accessory 400 will begiven later.

The camera body 100 includes the battery compartment 110, an imagingprocessing section 120, a shutter driving section 130, a display sectioncontrol circuit 135, a memory 140, a memory control circuit 145, aninput section 150, an operation detection circuit 155, a storage section158, and a camera control section 170.

The battery compartment 110 houses the battery BAT such as a primarybattery or a secondary battery. The battery BAT, when housed in thebattery compartment 110, is mounted on the camera body 100. The batteryBAT, when mounted on the camera body 100, supplies power (PWR) necessaryfor operations components of the camera system 1, for example, thedisplay section 102, the image capture lens 200, the accessory 400 andthe like.

The imaging processing section 120 includes the imaging device 121, animaging device control circuit 122, and an image circuit 123. Theimaging device 121 includes a plurality of two-dimensionally arrangedpixels. Each pixel of the imaging device 121 includes a light receivingelement such as a CCD (Charge Coupled device) or CMOS (ComplementaryMetal Oxide Semiconductor) sensor. The light receiving element of theimaging device 121 generates electric charge based on the amount oflight incident on each pixel from the optical system 210. The imagingdevice 121 converts the electric charge generated in the light receivingelement by the light incident on each pixel into an electric signal. Theimaging device 121 generates an analog image signal based on an image(optical image) formed on the light-receiving surface of the imagingdevice 121 through the optical system 210. The imaging device 121 isconnected to each of the imaging device control circuit 122 and theimage circuit 123. The image circuit 123 amplifies the analog imagesignal output from the imaging device 121, and converts the analog imagesignal into a digital signal. The imaging device control circuit 122performs acts such as generating an image signal based on the image inthe imaging device 121, outputting the generated image signal bycontrolling the imaging device 121, and the like.

The shutter driving section 130 controls opening and closing of ashutter housed in the camera body 100. Light incident on thelight-receiving surface of the imaging device 121 through the opticalsystem 210 is shielded when the shutter is closed. Meanwhile, when ashutter mechanism for an exposure control is not mounted on the camerabody 100, the shutter driving section 130 is also unnecessary.

The display section control circuit 135 executes, for example, a displaycontrol such as turn-on, brightness adjustment, and turn-off of thedisplay section 102, or a process of displaying image data output fromthe camera control section 170 on the display section 102.

The memory 140 is, for example, a recording medium removable from thecamera body 100 such as a memory card or the like. The memory 140stores, for example, image data or the like generated by the cameracontrol section 170. The memory control circuit 145 controls input andoutput of information between the camera control section 170 and thememory 140. The memory control circuit 145 performs, for example, aprocess of storing the information such as the image data generated bythe camera control section 170 in the memory 140, a process of readingout information such as image data stored in the memory 140 to outputthe information to the camera control section 170, or the like.

The input section 150 includes the setting switches 104 and the releasebutton 16 that are operated by the user. The operation detection circuit155 detects a user's operation input to the input section 150. Theoperation detection circuit 155 generates operation informationindicating the user's operation input to the input section 150, andoutputs the generated operation information to the camera controlsection 170.

The storage section 158 includes a nonvolatile memory 160 and a buffermemory 165. The nonvolatile memory 160 stores a series ofcomputer-readable instructions (hereinafter, “program”) for operatingthe camera control section 170, image data generated by the imagecapture, information indicating a state of the device, informationindicating power consumption of each load section of the camera system1, and information such as various types of settings or imagingconditions which are input from the user. The information indicating astate of the device includes voltage information (remaining batterylevel) of the battery BAT housed in the battery compartment 110 of thecamera body 100, information indicating a control state of each actuatorof the image capture lens 200, and the like. The information indicatingpower consumption of each load section of the camera system 1 includespower (necessary for an operation) consumed in the shutter drivingsection 130, power (necessary for an operation) consumed in the actuatorof the image capture lens 200, power (necessary for an operation)consumed in the accessory 400, and the like. The buffer memory 165 is astorage section for storing therein temporary information used in thecontrol process of the camera control section 170. The camera controlsection 170 temporarily stores, for example, an image signal output fromthe imaging device 121, image data generated in response to the imagesignal, or the like in the buffer memory 165.

The camera control section 170 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit)that controls operations of components of the camera body 100 on thebasis of the program stored in the nonvolatile memory 160, andelectronic parts such as an ASIC (Application Specific IntegratedCircuit). The camera control section 170 performs a supply of power tothe camera body 100, a driving control of the optical system 210 throughthe optical system driving section 220, a driving control of the imagingdevice 121 through the imaging device control circuit 122, a displaycontrol of the display section 102 through the display section controlcircuit 135, a control of a process for the image signal output to theimage circuit 123, and the like, for example, in accordance withoperation information which is output to the camera control section 170by the operation detection circuit 155.

The camera control section 170 includes an image processing section 171,a display control section 172, an imaging control section 173, anoperation detection processing section 174, a power control section 175,and a communication section 176.

The image processing section 171 generates image data by performingimage processing on the image signal output from the image circuit 123.The image processing section 171 stores the generated image data in thebuffer memory 165.

The display control section 172 reads out the image data from the buffermemory 165 for each given time interval, and repeatedly displays thereadout image data on the display section 102. Moreover, the displaycontrol section 172 reads out the image data from the buffer memory 165for each given time interval, and records the image data in the memory140 as moving-image format data (moving image data). Moreover, thedisplay control section 172 displays the remaining charging level of thebattery BAT on the display section 102 in accordance with adetermination result of the power control section 175 described later.

The operation detection processing section 174 determines the user'soperation detected by the operation detection circuit 155 on the basisof operation information which is output by the operation detectioncircuit 155, and stores determined information in the buffer memory 165.The operation detection processing section 174 outputs control commandsof various types of processes based on operations from the user tocomponents (functional sections) that execute processes corresponding tothe operations. For example, when the operation detection circuit 155detects an input requesting execution of the imaging process to theinput section 150, the operation detection processing section 174outputs a control command for requesting the execution of the imagingprocess to the imaging control section 173 on the basis of the operationinformation which is output to the operation detection processingsection 174 by the operation detection circuit 155. In addition, forexample when the operation detection circuit 155 detects an inputrequesting execution of the automatic focus (AF) process to the inputsection 150, the operation detection processing section 174 outputs acontrol command for requesting the execution of the AF process on thebasis of the operation information which is output to the operationdetection processing section 174 by the operation detection circuit 155.In the AF process, the optical system control section 230 controls thefocusing control motor of the optical system driving section 220 whilereferring to a ranging result using the image detected in the imagingdevice 121 through the optical system 210 on the basis of the controlcommand which is output by the operation detection processing section174, and adjusts the focus of the optical system 210, for example, so asto focus on a subject designated by the user.

The imaging control section 173 outputs to the components of the camerasystem 1 a control signal for causing the components of the camerasystem 1 to execute the imaging process, on the basis of the controlcommand which is output by the operation detection circuit 155. Theimaging control section 173 executes, for example, the following processas a process associated with the imaging process. In the imagingprocess, the imaging control section 173 performs controls such as thefocusing control, the exposure control, the zooming control, and the VRcontrol of the optical system 210 through the optical system controlsection 230, in accordance with the imaging conditions which arepreviously input from a user. In addition, in the imaging process, theimaging control section 173 controls the time (exposure time) for whichthe shutter is to be opened by controlling the shutter driving section130, and irradiates the light-receiving surface of the imaging device121 with light from the optical system 210 only for the exposure time.In addition, the imaging control section 173 controls the accessory 400as necessary, and performs light irradiation from the accessory 400 insynchronization with the image capture timing.

The power control section 175 determines the remaining amount of powerin the battery BAT by comparing a result of detecting a power-supplyvoltage output from the battery BAT with a determination threshold. Inaddition, the power control section 175 collects information indicatingpower consumption of each load section of the camera system 1, andmonitors power consumption of each load section of the camera system 1.

The communication section 176 is communicably connected to the loadcontrol section that controls each load section located inside thecamera body 100. The load section located inside the camera body 100 is,for example, the display section 102 or the like, and the load controlsection is, for example, the display section control circuit 135 or thelike. In addition, the communication section 176 is connected toexternal devices arranged outside the camera body 100 in the camerasystem 1, communicably with a control section of each external device.The image capture lens 200 of the present embodiment is an example ofthe external devices, and the optical system control section 230 iscommunicably connected to the communication section 176. In addition,the accessory 400 of the present embodiment is one of the externaldevices, and the accessory control section 440 is communicably connectedto the communication section 176.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the accessory 400,and a connection relationship between the accessory 400 and the camera10 (the camera body 100 and the image capture lens 200 mentioned above).

First, the camera 10 will be described. The camera 10 includes a loadsection 30, a power switch 31, a power source section 32, and anaccessory power source control section 33.

The load section 30 includes a load section of the camera body 100 suchas the shutter driving section 130 or the display section 102 mentionedabove, and a load section arranged outside the camera body 100 such asthe optical system driving section 220 or the optical system controlsection 230. The load section 30 includes a heavy load section of whichthe power consumption is high, and a light load section of which thepower consumption is relatively lower than the heavy load section. Theheavy load section includes a load section having an actuator such as,for example, the optical system driving section 220 or the shutterdriving section 130 in the camera body 100. The light load sectionincludes the optical system control section 230, the image processingsection 171, each control circuit, the display section and the like.

The power switch 31 is a switch for cutting off a supply of power fromthe battery BAT to the heavy load section of the load section 30.

The power source section 32 stabilizes an output voltage of the batteryBAT and supplies the stabilized output voltage to the light load sectionof the load section 30 and the camera control section 170. The powersource section 32 includes a voltage detection sensor that detects anoutput voltage of the battery BAT, and a constant voltage circuit thatstabilizes the output voltage of the battery BAT.

The accessory power source control section 33 includes a first terminal,a second terminal, and a control terminal. The accessory power sourcecontrol section 33 is a switch for switching between conduction statesof the first terminal and the second terminal in response to a controlsignal input to the control terminal. In the description of the presentembodiment, a state of a switch in which its terminals are electricallyconnected to become conducting is called “a circuit is closed”, and astate in which the terminals are electrically disconnected to becomenon-conducting is called “a circuit is opened”.

The terminal section 25 of the camera body 100 is electricallyconnectable to the terminal section 423 of the accessory 400. Theterminal section 25 includes a plurality of terminals Tp1 to Tp12 (seeFIG. 4). In the description of the present embodiment, each of theterminals of the terminal section 25 of the shoe seat 15 is assigned thenumber indicating an arrangement order of the terminals, and may bedistinguished from each other. This number is the number ascending fromone side (+X side) in the array direction (X-axis direction) of theterminals toward the other side (−X side). For example, among theterminals of the terminal section 25, the terminal disposed farthest onthe +X side is the first terminal, and the terminal disposed farthest onthe −X side is the twelfth terminal.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, each of the terminals in the terminal section25 of the camera body 100 is assigned as explained below.

In the terminal section 25, the eleventh terminal (i.e., the powerterminal Tp11) and the twelfth terminal (i.e., the power terminal Tp12)are terminals that supply power PWR of the battery BAT arranged withinthe camera body 100 to the accessory 400.

The first terminal (i.e., the ground terminal Tp1) and the secondterminal (i.e., the ground terminal Tp2) are ground terminalscorresponding to the power terminal Tp11 and the power terminal Tp12.The ground terminal Tp1 and the ground terminal Tp2 are terminals ofwhich a potential serves as a reference potential of the power PWR. Inaddition, the ground terminal Tp1 and the ground terminal Tp2 are groundterminals for the circuit (heavy load section of the load section 30)within the camera body 100 in which the power PWR is used.

The third terminal (i.e., the reference potential terminal Tp3) and afifth terminal (i.e., the reference potential terminal Tp5) areterminals (reference potential terminal, that is, terminals serving as areference potential for performing transmission and reception of asignal) of which a potential serves as a reference potential SGND(signal ground). In addition, the reference potential terminal Tp3 andthe reference potential terminal Tp5 are ground terminals for thecircuits (camera control section 170, power source section 32, and lightload section of the load section 30) within the camera body 100.

The fourth terminal (i.e., the synchronous signal terminal Tp4) is aterminal at which a synchronous signal (clock signal) CLK which is acommunication clock signal generated in the accessory 400 is input fromthe accessory 400.

The sixth terminal (i.e., the communication signal terminal Tp6) is aterminal for outputting a communication signal DATA including data inthe camera (including various types of commands) to the accessory 400,and is also a terminal at which the communication signal DATA includingvarious types of information items in the accessory 400 (specificinformation, setting information and the like of the accessory 400) areinput from the accessory 400.

The seventh terminal (i.e., the startup state detecting terminal Tp7) isa terminal for the camera control section 170 to detect whether theaccessory 400 provides a startup detection level (electrical L level)DET indicating a state where the connector 420 is mounted on the shoeseat 15 and an accessory startup state (in other words, indicating astartup state (function enabling state) in which the accessory 400starts up and is enabled to function). This will be explained in detaillater with reference to FIGS. 9A and 9B.

The eighth terminal (i.e., the emission control signal terminal Tp8) isa terminal for outputting an emission control (emission command) signalX controlling at least one emission of the flash light emitting section430 and the illumination light emitting section 435 of the accessory 400to the accessory 400. In plain words, the emission control (emissioncommand) signal X is a control command for instructing the flash lightemitting section 430 or the illumination light emitting section 435 toperform an emission start.

The ninth terminal (i.e., the communication control signal terminal Tp9)is a terminal for outputting a communication control (communicationstart) signal Cs from the camera 10 to the accessory 400 whencommunication starts from the camera 10 to the accessory 400. Thecommunication control signal Cs is a signal for determining thecommunication start timing of DATA communication between the camera 10and the accessory 400 through the above-mentioned communication signalterminal Tp6.

The tenth terminal (i.e., the open terminal Tp10) is a terminal to whichneither the power nor the signal is supplied, and is a so-called openterminal. This open terminal Tp10 is a terminal preliminarily providedfor a future function expansion of the system.

Among the terminals of the terminal section 25, the power terminal Tp11and the power terminal Tp12 are arranged on one side (−X side) in thearray direction (X-axis direction). In other words, the power terminalTp11 and the power terminal Tp12 are arranged side by side on one end inthe arrangement of the twelve terminals of the terminal section 25.Among the terminals of the terminal section 25, the ground terminal Tp1and ground terminal Tp2 are arranged on the other side (+X side) in thearray direction (X-axis direction). In other words, the ground terminalTp1 and the ground terminal Tp2 are arranged side by side on the otherend (end on the side opposite to the arrangement side of the powerterminal Tp11 and the power terminal Tp12) in the arrangement of thetwelve terminals of the terminal section 25.

In other words, the ground terminal Tp1 and the ground terminal Tp2 arearranged at positions which are farther (relatively distant position)from the power terminals Tp11 and Tp12 than the communication systemterminals Tp3 to Tp9. Furthermore, the communication system terminalsTp3 to Tp9 are, in other words, arranged at the other side (+X-side)which is an opposite side against the one side (−X-side) with respect tothe power terminals Tp11 and Tp12.

In addition, among the terminals of the terminal section 25, theterminals (communication signal terminal Tp6, emission control signalterminal Tp8, and communication control signal terminal Tp9) foroutputting the control signal to the accessory 400, the terminal(synchronous signal terminal Tp4) to which the control signal is inputfrom the accessory 400, and the terminal (startup state detectingterminal Tp7) for discriminating whether to be in a state where theaccessory 400 is enabled to function, are sandwiched between the powerterminal Tp11 and the ground terminal Tp2.

The open terminal Tp10 is arranged between the power terminal Tp11 andthe communication control signal terminal Tp9. This location of the openterminal Tp10 allows the terminals (Tp4, Tp6, Tp8, and Tp9) used in asignal communication system or the startup state detecting terminal Tp7for detecting a startup state of the accessory 400 to be separated apartfrom the power terminals Tp11 and Tp12.

The emission control signal terminal Tp8 is arranged next to thecommunication control signal terminal Tp9 on the side opposite to theopen terminal Tp10. The startup state detecting terminal Tp7 is arrangednext to the emission control signal terminal Tp8 on the side opposite tothe communication control signal terminal Tp9. That is, the emissioncontrol signal terminal Tp8 is sandwiched between the startup statedetecting terminal Tp7 and the communication control signal terminalTp9.

The communication signal terminal Tp6 is arranged next to the startupstate detecting terminal Tp7 on the side opposite to the emissioncontrol signal terminal Tp8. That is, the startup state detectingterminal Tp7 is sandwiched between the communication signal terminal Tp6and the emission control signal terminal Tp8.

The reference potential terminal Tp5 is arranged next to thecommunication signal terminal Tp6 on the side opposite to the startupstate detecting terminal Tp7. That is, the communication signal terminalTp6 is sandwiched between the reference potential terminal Tp5 and thestartup state detecting terminal Tp7.

The synchronous signal terminal Tp4 is arranged next to the referencepotential terminal Tp5 on the side opposite to the communication signalterminal Tp6. One more reference potential terminal Tp3 is arranged nextto the synchronous signal terminal Tp4 on the side opposite to thereference potential terminal Tp5. That is, the synchronous signalterminal Tp4 is sandwiched between two reference potential terminals(Tp3 and Tp5).

The ground terminal Tp2 is arranged next to the reference potentialterminal Tp3 on the side opposite to the synchronous signal terminalTp4. That is, three terminals (reference potential terminal Tp3 and twoground terminals Tp1 and Tp2) having a GND relationship are disposedbiased in the vicinity of one end of the terminal arrangement.

Meanwhile, detailed descriptions of the signal input to each of theterminals of the terminal section 25 and the signal output by each ofthe terminals will be described later.

The camera control section 170 supplies the control signal forcontrolling the accessory 400 in communication with the accessory 400through the terminal section 25 and the terminal section 423 to theaccessory 400. In the present embodiment, the control signals suppliedto the accessory 400 by the camera control section 170 are the emissioncontrol signal X for controlling the emission of the light-emittingsection 425 in the accessory 400, the communication signal DATA, and thecommunication control signal Cs for determining the communication timingbetween the camera 10 and the accessory 400.

The camera control section 170 reads out information stored in at leastone of the nonvolatile memory 160 and the buffer memory 165 shown inFIG. 6, and transmits the readout information to the accessory controlsection 440. The camera control section 170 stores information receivedfrom the accessory control section 440 in at least one of thenonvolatile memory 160 and the buffer memory 165.

The information stored in the nonvolatile memory 160 includes camerainitial state information indicating an initial state of the camera 10,and camera setting state information indicating a setting state of thecamera 10. The camera control section 170 can transmit at least oneinformation item of various types of information items included in thecamera initial state information or the camera setting state informationto the accessory control section 440.

The camera initial state information includes information indicating atype of the camera 10, information indicating a type of the functionincluded in the camera 10, information indicating the characteristics ofeach function included in the camera 10, and the like. The informationindicating a type of the function included in the camera 10 is, forexample, information indicating whether to perform an AE control,information indicating whether to perform an AWB control, and the like.The camera setting state information is setting information indicatingwhether to cause each function included in the camera 10 to function,information indicating an image capture mode of the camera 10, and thelike. The information indicating an image capture mode is, for example,information indicating whether the camera 10 is set to an image capturemode for capturing an image as a moving image, information indicatingwhether the camera 10 is set to an image capture mode for capturing animage as a still image, and the like. The information indicating whetherthe camera 10 is set to an image capture mode for capturing an image asa still image is, for example, information indicating whether the camerais set to a mode for performing any of single shooting and continuousshooting. The mode for performing single shooting is, for example, animage capture mode for capturing one image whenever the release button16 is held down. The mode for performing continuous shooting is an imagecapture mode for capturing a plurality of images while the releasebutton 16 is being held down.

Next, the connection relationship between each of the components in thecamera 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 7. The battery BAT isassumed to be housed in the battery compartment 110. A positiveelectrode of the battery BAT is connected to one end of the power switch31 through a power source line 40 (PWR).

The other end of the power switch 31 is connected to a power terminal ofthe heavy load section of the load section 30. A ground terminal of theheavy load section of the load section 30 is connected to a negativeelectrode of the battery BAT in the battery compartment 110 through agrounding line 41 (PGND).

The positive electrode of the battery BAT is connected to an inputterminal of the power source section 32 through the power source line40. A first output terminal of the power source section 32 is connectedto a power terminal of the light load section of the load section 30. Aground terminal of the light load section of the load section 30 isconnected to the negative electrode of the battery BAT through agrounding line 42 (SGND). In addition, a second output terminal of thepower source section 32 is connected to a power terminal of the cameracontrol section 170. A potential of the second output terminal isdifferent from a potential of the first output terminal. A groundterminal of the camera control section 170 is connected to the negativeelectrode of the battery BAT through the grounding line 42 (SGND).

The ground terminal Tp1 is connected to the negative electrode of thebattery BAT through a grounding line 43 (GND). The ground terminal Tp2is connected to the negative electrode of the battery BAT through thegrounding line 43 in parallel with the ground terminal Tp1. Thereference potential terminal Tp3 is connected to the negative electrodeof the battery BAT through the grounding line 42. The referencepotential terminal Tp5 is connected to the negative electrode of thebattery BAT through the grounding line 42 in parallel with the referencepotential terminal Tp3. Meanwhile, the ground of the camera 10 in thepresent embodiment adopts a so-called single point ground (single pointearth).

The synchronous signal terminal Tp4, the communication signal terminalTp6, the startup state detecting terminal Tp7, the emission controlsignal terminal Tp8, and the communication control signal terminal Tp9are respectively connected to the camera control section 170 through asignal line. The open terminal Tp10 is insulated from other circuitssuch as the camera control section 170, the power source line 40, thegrounding line 41, the grounding line 42, and the grounding line 43.

A pull-up resistor is arranged on the line connected to thecommunication signal terminal Tp6. This pull-up resistor is electricallyconnected to the output side of the power source section 32. For thisreason, the potential (level) in the communication signal terminal Tp6is maintained to an H level before the mounting of the accessory 400 andbefore the start of communication with the accessory 400. Meanwhile, apull-up resistor is arranged on the line connected to the startup statedetecting terminal Tp7 similarly to the above-mentioned communicationsignal terminal Tp6. This will be described later with reference to FIG.9A 9B.

The power terminal Tp11 is connected to a first terminal of theaccessory power source control section 33. The power terminal Tp12 isconnected to the first terminal of the accessory power source controlsection 33 in parallel with the power terminal Tp11. A second terminalof the accessory power source control section 33 is connected to thepositive electrode of the battery BAT through the power source line 40.The accessory power source control section 33 can block a supply ofpower from the battery BAT to the power terminal Tp11 and the powerterminal Tp12 by a control signal which is input from the camera controlsection 170 to a control terminal thereof.

Next, the configuration of the accessory 400 will be described withreference to FIG. 7. The accessory 400 of the present embodiment isoperated by the power PWR supplied from the camera 10. When the powersource that supplies power consumed in the accessory 400 is not mountedon the accessory 400, the accessory 400 causes each of the components ofthe accessory 400 to function by the power PWR supplied from the camera10.

The accessory 400 includes the flash light emitting section 430, theillumination light emitting section 435, the accessory control section440, a nonvolatile memory 445, a first power source section (powersource section 1) 450-1, a second power source section (power sourcesection 2) 450-2, the second pilot lamp 460, the first pilot lamp 455, afirst switch section 465, and a second switch section 470. The accessory400 cannot have a battery built-in.

The flash light emitting section 430 includes a flash light source 431and a charging section 432. The flash light source 431 includes a knownflash illumination light source such as a xenon tube.

The charging section 432 includes a booster circuit section (alsoreferred to as a booster section) which boosts a voltage supplied fromthe camera body 100, and an accumulation circuit section (accumulationsection/condenser/or capacitor) which is able to accumulate powernecessary for causing the flash light source 431 to emit light on thebasis of the voltage boosted in the booster circuit section. Thecharging section 432 causes the flash light source 431 to emit light bysupplying the power accumulated in the accumulation section(accumulation circuit section) to the flash light source 431.

The charging section 432 starts or stops charging of the chargingsection 432 to the accumulation section in accordance with a signalsupplied from the accessory control section 440. The charging section432 can detect the amount of charging (the amount of electricaccumulation or the amount of charge) accumulated by the accumulationsection, by detecting a voltage (charging voltage) between electrodes ofthe accumulation section during a charging process of charging theaccumulation section. The charging section 432 supplies informationindicating the detected amount of charging of the accumulation sectionto the accessory control section 440.

Meanwhile, the charging section 432 includes a known light emissioncontrol circuit (for example, a circuit such as a known IGBT, whichcontrols start and stop of emission). The charging section can cause theflash light source 431 to emit light in synchronization with the imagecapture timing and control the amount of light emitted of the flashlight source 431, in accordance with a signal which is input from theaccessory control section 440.

The illumination light emitting section 435 includes an illuminationlight source driving section 436 and an illumination light source 437.The illumination light source 437 of the present embodiment includes asolid-state light source such as a light-emitting diode (LED) capable ofemitting continuous illumination light. The illumination light sourcedriving section 436 causes the illumination light source 437 to emitlight by supplying a current to the illumination light source 437. Ofcourse, the illumination light source 437 is intermittently suppliedwith a current by the illumination light source driving section 436,thereby also allowing not only continuous illumination light butillumination light to be intermittently emitted. The illumination lightsource driving section 436 causes the illumination light source 437 toemit light in synchronization with the image capture timing by thecontrol of the accessory control section 440. The illumination lightsource driving section 436 controls the time duration (turn-on time) forwhich the illumination light source 437 is caused to emit light inaccordance with a signal which is input from the accessory controlsection 440.

Meanwhile, the accessory 400 includes a first conduction switch forswitching an electrical conduction state (ON/OFF) with respect to apower source line 481 of the flash light emitting section 430 and asecond conduction switch for switching an electrical conduction state(ON/OFF) with respect to the power source line 481 with respect to theillumination light-emitting section 435, which are not shown in thedrawings. The first and second conduction switches are controlled by theaccessory control section 440. Thus, when the camera system 1 causes thelight-emitting section 425 to function to thereby perform an imagecapture, the accessory 400 can emit light alternatively from the flashlight emitting section 430 or the illumination light emitting section435, or from both light-emitting sections, by the control of theaccessory control section 440 over the first and second conductionswitches and each of the light-emitting sections 430 and 435.

In the present embodiment, the maximum amount of light emitted of theflash light emitting section 430 is larger than the maximum amount oflight emitted of the illumination light emitting section 435. The flashlight emitting section 430 is turned on, for example, at the time ofcapturing a still image, and can illuminate the subject more brightlythan at the time of turn-on of the illumination light emitting section435. In the present embodiment, the longest turn-on time (longestturn-on time) of the illumination light emitting section 435 is longerthan the longest turn-on time of the flash light emitting section 430.The illumination light emitting section 435 is turned on, for example,at the time of capturing a moving image, and can illuminate a subjectover a longer period of time than the turn-on time of the flash lightemitting section 430.

In the present embodiment, light emitted by the flash light emittingsection 430 may be referred to as a flash, and a function of the flashlight emitting section 430 emitting a flash may be referred to as aflash light emitting function. In addition, light emitted by theillumination light emitting section 435 may be referred to asillumination light, and a function of the illumination light emittingsection 435 emitting illumination light may be referred to as aillumination light emitting function.

In the present embodiment, the first pilot lamp 455 (PL2) and the secondpilot lamp 460 (PL1), respectively, include a solid-state light sourcesuch as an LED. The first pilot lamp 455 is turned on depending on thestate of the flash light emitting section 430, by the control of theaccessory control section 440. For example, when the flash lightemitting section 430 is in a state where it is capable of emitting light(state where the charging to the charge accumulation section iscompleted), the accessory control section 440 turns on the first pilotlamp 455. In addition, when the flash light emitting section 430 is in astate where it is not capable of emitting light (when the amount ofcharging of the charge accumulation section is insufficient), theaccessory control section 440 turns off the first pilot lamp 455.

The second pilot lamp 460 is turned on or turned off depending onwhether the illumination light emitting section 435 is in a state whereit is capable of emitting light (the above-mentioned second conductionswitch is in an ON state) by the accessory control section 440,similarly to the first pilot lamp 455.

In the present embodiment, the first switch section 465 (MSW) ismechanically associated with the above-mentioned locking claw 422 (seeFIG. 4). The first switch section 465 closes or opens a circuit by themovement of the locking claw 422 in a predetermined direction (Z-axisdirection). When the tip of the locking claw 422 protrudes by more thana predetermined distance which is previously set from the bottom 421 ofthe connector 420, the first switch section 465 closes a circuit. Thatis, when mounting of the accessory 400 on the camera 10 is completed,the first switch section 465 closes the circuit. On the other hand, whenthe locking claw 422 is thrust by more than a predetermined amount ofthe movement which is previously set toward the bottom 421 of theconnector 420, the first switch section 465 opens the circuit.

In the present embodiment, the second switch section 470 (PCSW) ismechanically coupled to the second operating portion 471 (see FIG. 2).The second switch section 470 closes or opens the circuit depending onthe operation of the second operating portion 471.

The first power source section (power source section 1) 450-1 includes aconstant voltage circuit for stabilizing a voltage of power (controllinga constant voltage) supplied from the camera 10. The first power sourcesection 450-1 can supply the power of which the voltage is stabilized bythe constant voltage circuit to the second power source section (powersource section 2) 450-2 and the illumination light emitting section 435.The first power source section 450-1 is connected to a referencepotential line 480 (SGND). The second power source section 450-2generates power for the accessory control section 440 from the powersupplied from the first power source section 450-1. The second powersource section 450-2 is also connected to the reference potential line480 (SGND).

The storage section 444 includes the nonvolatile memory 445. Thenonvolatile memory 445 can hold information even in a state where thepower is not supplied to the accessory 400. The nonvolatile memory 445includes at least one of a memory which is capable of rewriting storeddata and a memory (for example, ROM) which is not capable of rewritingstored data. The nonvolatile memory 445 stores a program for operatingthe accessory control section 440, or information such as informationindicating the states (initial state and various setting states of theaccessory presently set in a memory within the accessory control section440) of the accessory 400 and information indicating the states (initialstate and setting state) of the camera acquired from the camera 10.

The accessory control section 440 includes a CPU that controls theoperations of the components of the accessory 400 on the basis of aprogram stored in the nonvolatile memory 445, and electronic parts suchas an ASIC. The accessory control section 440 communicates with thecamera control section 170 through the terminal section 423 and theterminal section 25. The accessory control section 440 sends accessoryinitial state information stored in the storage section 444 or at leastone information item of various types of information items included inaccessory setting state information to the camera control section 170.In addition, the accessory control section 440 stores informationreceived from the camera control section 170 in the storage section 444.

The accessory initial state information includes accessory typeinformation indicating a type of the accessory 400. The accessory typeinformation includes battery presence or absence information indicatingwhether a battery is set in the accessory 400, function type informationindicating a type of each function included in the accessory 400, andcharacteristics information indicating the characteristics of eachfunction included in the accessory 400. The function type informationincludes information indicating the presence or absence of a flash lightemitting function, information indicating the presence or absence of anillumination light emitting function, and information indicating thepresence or absence of extended functions. The extended functions arefunctions other than the flash light emitting function and theillumination light emitting function, and are, for example, amulti-turn-on commander function, a GPS (Global Positioning System)function, a communication function with devices other than the camerabody 100, and the like. The characteristics information of the flashlight emitting function includes information (profile information)indicating the emission characteristics of the flash light emittingsection 430. The characteristics information of the illumination lightemitting function includes information (illumination profileinformation) indicating the emission characteristics of the illuminationlight emitting section 435, and information indicating the longest time(longest turn-on time) for which the illumination light emitting section435 is capable of continuously emitting light.

The accessory setting state information includes information indicatingwhether the flash light emitting function is in an on-state (effective)or in an off-state (ineffective), and information indicating whether theillumination light emitting function is in an on-state (effective) or inan off-state (ineffective).

The accessory control section 440 controls the components of theaccessory 400 on the basis of the control signal supplied from thecamera control section 170. The accessory control section 440 performs alight emission control for causing the flash light emitting section 430or the illumination light emitting section 435 to emit light, inaccordance with the emission control signal X supplied from the cameracontrol section 170. In the light emission control for causing the flashlight emitting section 430 to emit light, the accessory control section440 controls the charging section 432 so that the flash light source 431emits light in synchronization with the image capture timing of thecamera. In the light emission control for causing the illumination lightemitting section 435 to emit light, the accessory control section 440controls the illumination light source driving section 436 so that theillumination light source 437 emits light in synchronization with theimage capture timing.

A method of controlling the charging section 432 by the accessorycontrol section 440 is described below in detail while referring to FIG.8.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a timing of performing each process ina charging control. The accessory 400 of the present embodiment is notequipped with a power source (battery) for charging the accumulationsection (charge accumulation section) of the charging section 432. Thatis, the accessory 400 receives power from the camera 10. When a commandinstructing the charging start to the accumulation section (chargeaccumulation section) (hereinafter, called the “charging command”) isreceived from the camera control section 170, the accessory controlsection 440 causes the charging section 432 to start charging to theaccumulation section (charge accumulation section).

There are two main types of the charging operations performed under thecontrol of the accessory control section 440 by the charging section432. One type is called a “monitor charging operation”. The chargingsection 432 can detect the amount of charging (charging voltage) in theaccumulation section during the charging of the accumulation section(charge accumulation section). However, the charging section 432 cannotdetect the amount of charging of the accumulation section at a desiredpoint in time except for the above-mentioned charging to theaccumulation section (charge accumulation section). Consequently, theaccessory control section 440 performs the “monitor charging operation”as a special charging operation for detecting the amount of charging ofthe accumulation section at a desired point in time. The accessorycontrol section 440 stops the monitor charging in the lapse of apredetermined time period after the monitor charging is started. Thecharging time of this monitor charging is very short, for example,approximately 10 ms.

One more charging operation is a main charging operation (hereinafter,called the “main charging”) performed for securing the amount ofcharging necessary for causing the flash light source 431 to emit light.Normally, the charging time of the main charging operation is muchlonger than the charging time of the monitor charging operation. Inother words, normally, the amount of charge accumulating in theaccumulation section (charge accumulation section) at the time of themain charging operation is much larger than the charge at the time ofthe monitor charging operation. During the main charging, the chargingsection 432 detects the amount of charging (charging voltage) of theaccumulation section (charge accumulation section), and suppliesinformation indicating the amount of charging thereof to the accessorycontrol section 440. When the amount of charging does not reach apredetermined amount (charging stop level described later) shown in FIG.8, the accessory control section 440 controls the charging section 432so as to continue the charging operation until the amount of chargingreaches the predetermined amount (charging stop level). The chargingoperation of the accessory control section 440 is continued until theamount of charging reaches the predetermined amount (charging stoplevel), as long as a charging stop command for forcibly stopping thecharging operation is not transmitted from the camera control section170 to the accessory control section 440.

However, in the present embodiment, if the “charging command” is notreceived from the camera control section 170, the accessory controlsection 440 is configured to cause the charging section 432 not to startthe charging operations (the monitor charging operation and the maincharging operation) for the accumulation section (charge accumulationsection). For this reason, the accessory control section 440 submits arequest for transmission of the “charging command” (hereinafter, calledthe “charging request”) to the camera control section 170. There are a“monitor charging request” of a case where a command of theabove-mentioned monitor charging is requested from the camera 10 and amain charging request of a case where a command of the above-mentionedmain charging is requested from the camera 10, in the charging requests(in the present embodiment, these two types of charging requests arecollectively called the “charging request”). The “monitor chargingrequest” is transmitted from the accessory control section 440 to thecamera control section 170 in an initial communication sequence (detailsthereof will be described later) performed between the camera controlsection 170 and the accessory control section 440, or a steadycommunication sequence (details thereof will be described later)performed regularly (periodically) between both. On the other hand, the“main charging request” is output from the accessory control section 440in the case where the amount of charging falls below the “chargingrequest level” shown in FIG. 8 as a result of the above-mentionedmonitor charging, or in the steady communication sequence performedimmediately after the emission operation.

The accessory control section 440 is configured to charge theaccumulation section (charge accumulation section) of the chargingsection 432 by receiving each “charging command” output from the cameracontrol section 170 in accordance with each “charging request” from theaccessory 400.

Herein, a general charging sequence will be described with reference toFIG. 8. When the charging section 432 is not in the charging operation(in the initial communication sequence or in the steady communicationsequence), the accessory control section 440 sends the “monitor chargingrequest” to the camera control section 170. The accessory controlsection 440 causes the charging section 432 to start the monitorcharging in accordance with the “monitor charging command” which isoutput from the camera control section 170 in accordance with the“monitor charging request” (time t1 in FIG. 8). The accessory controlsection 440 acquires information indicating the amount of chargingdetected during the monitor charging by the charging section 432(hereinafter, called the “charging amount of the monitor”) from thecharging section 432. The accessory control section 440 stops themonitor charging when a predetermined time (for example, 10 ms) haslapsed after the monitor charging is started.

The accessory control section 440 performs a determination regarding thecharging state of the charging section 432 on the basis of informationindicating the amount of charging (the amount of charging of the monitoror the main amount of charging) detected by the charging section 432.The accessory control section 440 determines whether the amount ofcharging is equal to or more than the amount of charging (“emissionpermission level” in FIG. 8) minimally necessary for causing the flashlight source 431 to emit light. When the amount of charging of themonitor is determined to be equal to or more than the emissionpermission level, the accessory control section 440 determines that theflash light emitting section 430 is in a state in which it is capable ofemitting light (hereinafter, called the “ready state”). When the amountof charging of the monitor is determined to be less than the emissionpermission level, the accessory control section 440 determines that theflash light emitting section 430 is in a state where it is not capableof emitting light. The accessory control section 440 stores emissionpossibility information indicating whether the flash light emittingsection 430 is in the “ready state” in the nonvolatile memory 445 as oneitem of “charging state information” (details thereof will be describedlater) indicating the charging state of the charging section 432.

In addition, the accessory control section 440 determines whether theamount of charging is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold(“charging request level” in FIG. 8), on the basis of informationindicating the amount of charging (the amount of charging of the monitoror the main amount of charge) detected by the charging section 432. The“charging request level” is set to a level higher than the “emissionpermission level”.

When the amount of charging of the monitor is determined to be less thanthe charging request level, the accessory control section 440 outputsthe main charging request to the camera control section 170 in order toreceive a command for starting the main charging (hereinafter, calledthe main charging command) from the camera 10. The accessory controlsection 440 starts the main charging in accordance with the maincharging command from the camera control section 170 based on the maincharging request (time t2 in FIG. 8). Meanwhile, when the flash lightemitting function is set so as to be stopped, the accessory controlsection 440 does not output the main charging request to the cameracontrol section 170 even when the amount of charging of the monitor isdetermined to be smaller than the charging request level.

In addition, the accessory control section 440 determines whether themain amount of charging is equal to or more than a threshold (“chargingstop level” in FIG. 8) which is previously set, on the basis ofinformation indicating the main amount of charging detected during themain charging by the charging section 432. The “charging stop level” ispreviously set in accordance with the maximum value of the amount ofelectric accumulation capable of being accumulated in the accumulationsection (charge accumulation section), and is set to be higher than theabove-mentioned “charging request level”. When the main amount ofcharging is determined to be equal to or more than a charging completionlevel, the accessory control section 440 controls the charging section432 to stop the main charging of the accumulation section (chargeaccumulation section), regardless of the control of the camera controlsection 170 (time t3 in FIG. 8).

Meanwhile, when a command for requesting a stop of charging of thecharging section 432 to the accumulation section (charge accumulationsection) (hereinafter, called the “charging stop command”) is receivedfrom the camera control section 170, the accessory control section 440causes the charging section 432 to stop charging the accumulationsection (charge accumulation section) in accordance with the “chargingstop command”, even though the main amount of charging is less than thecharging stop level.

In this manner, in the camera system of the accessory 400 and the camera10 according to the present embodiment, the camera 10 outputs a chargingcommand in accordance with the “charging request” from the accessory400, and the accessory 400 performs the charging using power receivedfrom the camera 10 by receiving the command. In this manner, when thecharging is performed at the accessory 400, a system is configured tonecessarily ask the camera 10 for a request (charging permission) inorder to obtain permission (control command of the charging). For thisreason, for example, when a heavy load operation (for example, lensdriving operation or the like) is performed at the camera 10, it ispossible to suppress concern to cause harm (stop of the operation on thecamera, or the like) in the operation on the camera 10 by causingexcessive power consumption in the entirety of the system due toarbitrary execution of the main charging operation on the accessory 400.In addition, since the camera 10 (camera control section 170) may waitfor a charging request from the accessory 400 without performing aprocess of checking the amount of charge accumulated of the accumulationsection on the accessory 400, a process burden of the camera controlsection 170 can be reduced. In addition, even in the accessory 400(accessory control section 440), the camera 10 does not check whether tobe in a chargeable state (whether to be in a heavy load operation), andthe “charging request” may be just made in accordance with only theremaining amount of charge accumulated of the accumulation section (thecharging execution timing is determined in the camera 10). Therefore, itis not necessary to make the charging request while the load state onthe camera 10 is checked, and thus a process burden of the accessorycontrol section 440 can be reduced in this point.

However, the amount of charging of the accumulation section (chargeaccumulation section) decreases with time due to leakage or the likeafter a stop of the charging (after time t3 in FIG. 8). The accessorycontrol section 440 stops the charging, and then periodically sends the“monitor charging request” to the camera control section 170. Theaccessory control section 440 then causes the charging section 432 toperiodically perform the monitor charging in accordance with the“monitor charging command” which is periodically output from the cameracontrol section 170 in accordance with the periodic “monitor chargingrequest”.

In addition, the accessory control section 440 determines whether theamount of charging of the monitor is less than the charging requestlevel on the basis of information indicating the amount of chargingdetected during the monitor charging by the charging section 432. Whenthe amount of charging of the monitor is determined to be less than thecharging request level, the accessory control section 440 sends the“main charging request” to the camera control section 170 (time t4 inFIG. 8). The accessory control section 440 then causes the chargingsection 432 to perform the main charging in accordance with the “maincharging command” which is output from the camera control section 170 inaccordance with the “main charging request” (time t5 in FIG. 8).

In addition, when the flash light emitting section 430 emits light (timet6 in FIG. 8), the amount of charging of the accumulation section(charge accumulation section) may be reduced to less than the emissionpermission level. Consequently, after the flash light emitting section430 emits light, the accessory control section 440 sends the “maincharging request” to the camera control section 170.

The accessory control section 440 then causes the charging section 432to perform the main charging in accordance with the “main chargingcommand” which is output from the camera control section 170 inaccordance with the “main charging request” after the emission (time t7in FIG. 8).

Meanwhile, when the amount of charging of the accumulation section(charge accumulation section) is less than the emission permission levelas in the case after the emission of the flash light emitting section430 or the case after the startup of the accessory 400, the accessorycontrol section 440 causes the charging section 432 to perform thecharging operation at a first charging rate by the control of the cameracontrol section 170 (time t7 to time t8 in FIG. 8). In addition, whenthe amount of charging of the accumulation section (charge accumulationsection) detected by the charging section 432 is equal to or more thanthe emission permission level (t8 in FIG. 8), the accessory controlsection 440 causes the charging section 432 to perform the charging at asecond charging rate (by the control of the camera control section 170)(after time t8 in FIG. 8). The second charging rate is previously set toa charging rate slower than the first charging rate. In the presentembodiment, the main charging operation performed at the first chargingrate may be called a “normal charging”, and the main charging operationperformed at the second charging rate may be called a “slow charging”.

In addition, the accessory control section 440 sends the “charging stateinformation” indicating the control state of the control for thecharging section 432 to the camera control section 170. The chargingstate information is a portion of the accessory setting stateinformation stored in the storage section 444.

The charging state information will be described now. The charging stateinformation includes “charging request information” indicating whetherthe “charging request” is present, “charging lapse information”indicating whether the charging section 432 is being charged at thatpoint in time (presently), “chargeability information” indicatingwhether the charging section 432 is capable of being charged, and“emission possibility information” indicating whether the flash lightemitting section 430 is in a state in which it is capable of emittinglight (the ready state).

The “chargeability information” will be described now. Even when thecharging command is received from the camera 10, the charging operationmay not be performed depending on the state of the accessory 400. Forexample, when the temperature of the flash light emitting section 430rises due to generation of heat by the emission of the flash lightemitting section 430 on the accessory 400, the accessory control section440 may prohibit the charging operation in order to suppress a furtherrise in temperature due to the emission operation. Alternatively, when acircuit section such as a booster circuit within the charging section432 generates heat and exceeds a specified temperature, the accessorycontrol section 440 may prohibit the charging operation. Alternatively,when the charging operation of the charging section 432 cannot beterminated within a specified time and the charging process is timedout, the accessory control section 440 may determine that a defect isgenerated in the charging section 432 and prohibit the chargingoperation. In the manner, when the accessory control section 440determines prohibition of the charging operation, information indicating“charging-disabled (prohibition)” is set to “chargeability information”,and on the other hand, when the charging operation is prohibited,information indicating “charging-enabled” is set to “chargeabilityinformation”. The accessory control section 440 transmits theabove-mentioned information to the camera control section 170.Meanwhile, the charging request information, the charging lapseinformation, and the emission possibility information are alreadydescribed above.

Next, the terminal section 423 of the accessory 400 will be described.As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, when the accessory 400 is mounted on thecamera 10, the terminal section 423 is electrically connected to theterminal section 25 of the camera 10. The terminal section 423 includesa plurality of (twelve) terminals indicated by signs Ts1 to sign Ts12.Herein, the number indicating the arrangement order of the terminalsdescribed next is the number ascending from one side (+X side) in thearray direction (X-axis direction) of the terminals toward the otherside (−X side).

Meanwhile, the terminals Ts1 to Ts12, respectively, include a linear(line-shaped) portion extending in the direction substantially parallelto (+Y direction) the direction of the mounting in the camera (see FIG.5). The contact portion formed in the vicinity (+Y direction side) ofthe tip of the line shape (portion which comes into contact with theterminal Tp7 in FIG. 9B) is formed so as to be physically in contactwith each of the corresponding terminals (Tp1 to Tp12) on the cameraside and electrically connected thereto (see a contact structure betweenthe terminal Ts7 and the terminal Tp7 shown in FIG. 9B). These terminalsTs1 to Ts12, respectively, are formed in a flat spring structure inwhich the contact portion formed in the vicinity of the tip is biased inthe −Z direction (direction pressed against each of the correspondingcontacts on the camera side) of the drawing.

The function assigned to each of the terminals in the terminal section423 are explained below. Each of the terminals Ts1 to Ts12 of theterminal section 423 is provided corresponding to each of the terminals(Tp1 to Tp12) of the terminal section 25 on the camera 10 side describedin FIGS. 3 and 4. The function of each of the terminals in the terminalsection 423 is also associated with the function of each of theterminals in the terminal section 25. For this reason, in thedescription of the present embodiment, in order to avoid repeating thedescription mentioned above with respect to the terminal section 25, theterminal numbers 1 to 12 of each of the terminals are assigned the samenumbers as the terminal numbers of the terminals corresponding to eachof the terminals in the terminal section 25 on the camera side, and thusa repeated description regarding the function or the arrangement of eachof the terminals will be simplified or omitted.

In the terminal section 423, a power terminal Ts11 and a power terminalTs12, respectively, are terminals supplied with the power PWR from thecamera 10. A ground terminal Ts1 and a ground terminal Ts2 are groundterminals corresponding to the power terminal Ts11 and the powerterminal Ts12, and are terminals of which the potential serves as areference potential (ground) of the power PWR.

A reference potential terminal Ts3 and a reference potential terminalTs5 are respectively terminals of which the potential serves as areference potential (ground signal) for performing transmission andreception of a signal.

A synchronous signal terminal Ts4 is a terminal for outputting asynchronous signal (clock signal) CLK which is a communication clocksignal to the camera 10.

A communication signal terminal Ts6 is a terminal for inputting thecommunication signal DATA including communication data on the cameraside as explained above from the camera 10 side, or outputting thecommunication signal DATA on the accessory side to the camera 10.

A startup state providing terminal Ts7 is a terminal for providing thestartup detection level DET (reference potential based on L level/SGND)to the camera 10.

An emission control signal terminal Ts8 is a terminal to which theemission control signal (emission command signal) X is input from thecamera 10.

A communication control signal terminal Ts9 is a terminal to which thecommunication control signal (communication startup signal) Cs is inputfrom the camera 10.

An open terminal Ts10 is arranged between the power terminal Ts11 andthe communication control signal terminal Ts9.

The arrangement of each of the terminals regarding these twelveterminals Ts1 to Ts12 corresponds to each of the terminals Tp1 to Tp12of the terminal section 25, respectively, and therefore will bedescribed only briefly.

The power terminal Ts11 and the power terminal Ts12 are arranged againstone end in the terminal arrangement of the terminal section 423. Theground terminal Ts1 and the ground terminal Ts2 are arranged against theother end (end on the side opposite to the arrangement side of the powerterminal Ts11 and the power terminal Ts12) in the terminal arrangementof the terminal section 423.

In other words, the ground terminal Ts1 and the ground terminal Ts2 arearranged at positions which are farther (relatively distant position)from the power terminals Ts11 and Ts12 than the communication systemterminals Ts3 to Ts9 (including the signal input terminals Ts6, Ts8 andTs9 which inputs the above-mentioned various signals).

The open terminal Ts10 is arranged between the power terminal Ts11 andthe communication control signal terminal Ts9.

The emission control signal terminal Ts8 is arranged next to the startupstate providing terminal Ts7, and is sandwiched between the startupstate providing terminal Ts7 and the communication control signalterminal Ts9.

The communication signal terminal Ts6 is arranged next to the startupstate providing terminal Ts7. Thus, the startup state providing terminalTs7 is sandwiched between the communication signal terminal Ts6 and theemission control signal terminal Ts8.

The reference potential terminal Ts5 is arranged next to thecommunication signal terminal Ts6. Thus, the communication signalterminal Ts6 is sandwiched between the reference potential terminal Ts5and the startup state providing terminal Ts7.

The synchronous signal terminal Ts4 is arranged next to the referencepotential terminal Ts5. In addition, the reference potential terminalTs3 is arranged next to the synchronous signal terminal Ts4. Thus, thesynchronous signal terminal Ts4 is sandwiched between the referencepotential terminal Ts3 and the reference potential terminal Ts5.

The ground terminal Ts2 is arranged next to the reference potentialterminal Ts3 on the side opposite to the synchronous signal terminalTs4.

As stated previously, the power terminal Ts11 and the power terminalTs12 are arranged on one side of the terminal arrangements of theterminal section 423, and the communication system terminals Tp3 to Tp9(including the signal input terminals Ts6, Ts8 and Ts9 which inputs theabove-mentioned various signals) are, in other words, arranged at theother side which is an opposite side against the one side with respectto the power terminals Ts11 and Ts12.

Next, the connection relationship of each of the components in theaccessory 400 will be described with reference to FIG. 7.

The ground terminal Ts1 and the ground terminal Ts2 are connected toeach other through a connection pattern shown in FIG. 7. When theaccessory 400 is mounted on the camera 10, the ground terminal Ts1 andthe ground terminal Ts2 are connected to the grounding line 43 of thecamera 10 through the terminals Tp1 and Tp2 of the camera 10. The groundterminal Ts1 and the ground terminal Ts2 are ground terminals for thecircuit (charging section 432) on the accessory 400 in which the powerPWR is used, terminals serving as a reference potential of a suppliedvoltage in the accessory 400, and terminals serving as a referencepotential of a charging voltage.

The power terminal Ts11 is connected to the power source line 481. Thepower terminal Ts12 is connected to the power source line 481 inparallel with the power terminal Ts11. The power source line 481 isformed as a relatively thick wiring pattern (wiring pattern having aline width equal to or more than a line width obtained by adding a linewidth of a wiring pattern directly connected to Ts11 and a line width ofa wiring pattern directly connected to Ts12 together) on a circuitsubstrate so as to cause a large current supplied from the camera 10 toflow through two power terminals (power terminals Ts11 and Ts12).Meanwhile, a wiring pattern connected to the accessory power sourcecontrol section 33 of the camera 10 is also formed as a relatively thickwiring pattern, similarly to that of the accessory 400.

The reference potential terminal Ts3 and the reference potentialterminal Ts5 are connected to each other through a connection line asshown in FIG. 7. The reference potential terminal Ts3 and the referencepotential terminal Ts5 are connected in parallel to the referencepotential line 480 (SGND). When the accessory 400 is connected to thecamera 10, the reference potential line 480 is connected to the groundline (SGND) 42 of the camera 10 through the reference potentialterminals Ts3 and Ts5 and the terminals Tp3 and Tp5 of the camera 10.The reference potential terminal Ts3 and the reference potentialterminal Ts5 are terminals serving as a reference potential forperforming transmission and reception of a signal, in each circuitwithin the accessory 400 (MSW465, PCSW470, the nonvolatile memory 445,the first power source section 450-1, the second power source section450-2, the accessory control section 440, and the illumination lightemitting section 435).

Meanwhile, the ground terminal Ts1 and the ground terminal Ts2 are alsoconnected in parallel to the reference potential line 480 (SGND) througha connection line 490. However, the connection line connected to theground terminal Ts1 and the ground terminal Ts2 (line connected to theconnection line 490) has a lower resistance (impedance) than that of theline connected to the connection line 490 and the reference potentialterminals Ts3 and Ts5. For this reason, the large current flowingthrough the charging section 432 does not flow to the SGND line(reference potential terminals Ts3 and Ts5).

Meanwhile, the current flowing through the reference potential line 480flows to the ground terminals Ts1 and Ts2 through the connection line490, and the ground terminals Ts1 and Ts2 can be used as a reference ofa voltage supplied to each of the above-mentioned circuits within theaccessory 400. In addition, as the ground of the accessory 400 of thepresent embodiment, a so-called single point ground (single point earth)is adopted.

The startup state providing terminal Ts7 is connected to a firstterminal of a switch 466 (shown in FIG. 9B) in the first switch section465 through the signal line. A second terminal of the switch 466 in thefirst switch section 465 is connected to a first terminal of a switch472 (shown in FIG. 9B) in the second switch section 470. A secondterminal of the switch 472 in the second switch section 470 is connectedto the reference potential line 480. In this manner, the second switchsection 470 is connected to the signal line which is connected to thestartup state providing terminal Ts7 in series with the first switchsection 465.

The synchronous signal terminal Ts4 is connected to the accessorycontrol section 440 through the signal line. The communication signalterminal Ts6 is connected to the accessory control section 440 throughthe signal line. The signal line connected to the communication signalterminal Ts6 is provided with a pull-up resistor. The pull-up resistoris electrically connected to the output side of the second power sourcesection 450-2. For this reason, the potential (level) in thecommunication signal terminal Ts6 is maintained to an H level (a highlevel) before the mounting in the camera 10 and before the start ofcommunication with the camera 10.

The communication control signal terminal Ts9 is connected to theaccessory control section 440 through the signal line. The signal lineconnected to the communication control signal terminal Ts9 is providedwith a pull-up resistor. The pull-up resistor is electrically connectedto the output side of the second power source section 450-2. Thus, thepotential (level) in the communication signal terminal Ts6 is maintainedto an H level before the mounting in the camera 10 and before the startof communication with the camera 10.

The emission control signal terminal Ts8 is connected to the accessorycontrol section 440 through the signal line. The signal line connectedto the emission control signal terminal Ts8 is provided with a pull-upresistor. The pull-up resistor is electrically connected to the outputside of the second power source section 450-2. Thus, the potential(level) in the communication signal terminal Ts6 is maintained to an Hlevel before the mounting in the camera 10 and before the start ofcommunication with the camera 10.

The open terminal Ts10 is a so-called open terminal which is notconnected to any of the power supply system and the signal system. Theopen terminal Ts10 is insulated from circuits such as the accessorycontrol section 440, the power source line 481, and the referencepotential line 480.

A first electrode for main discharge in the flash light source 431 ofthe flash light emitting section 430 is connected to the chargingsection 432. A second electrode for main discharge is connected to thepower source line 481. A power terminal of the charging section 432 isconnected to the power source line 481. A ground terminal of thecharging section 432 is connected to the grounding line which isconnected to the ground terminal Ts1.

A power terminal of the illumination light source driving section 436 isconnected to the first power source section 450-1. A ground terminal ofthe illumination light source driving section 436 is connected to thereference potential line 480. A control terminal of the illuminationlight source driving section 436 is connected to the accessory controlsection 440 through the signal line.

The illumination light source 437 is configured so that an anode of asolid-state light source is connected to the illumination light sourcedriving section 436, and a cathode of the solid-state light source isconnected to the reference potential line 480.

The first pilot lamp 455 and the second pilot lamp 460 are configured sothat each one end thereof is electrically connected to the output sideof the second power source section (power source section 2) 450-2. Theother end of the first pilot lamp (PL2) 455 is connected to theaccessory control section 440 through the signal line. The other end ofthe second pilot lamp (PL1) 460 is connected to the accessory controlsection 440 through the signal line different from that of the firstpilot lamp 455.

An input terminal of the first power source section (power sourcesection 1) 450-1 is connected to the power source line 481. A groundterminal of the first power source section 450-1 is connected to thereference potential line 480. An output terminal of the first powersource section 450-1 is connected to an input terminal of the secondpower source section (power source section 2) 450-2 and the illuminationlight source driving section 436. An output terminal of the second powersource section 450-2 is connected to a power terminal of the accessorycontrol section 440. A ground terminal of the second power sourcesection 450-2 is connected to the reference potential line 480.

Next, the connection relationship between the camera 10 and theaccessory 400 will be described. In the state (hereinafter, called themounted state) where the accessory 400 is mounted on the camera 10, theground terminal Ts1 is connected to the ground terminal Tp1 of thecamera 10, and the ground terminal Ts2 is connected to the groundterminal Tp2 of the camera 10. In the mounted state, a terminal (groundterminal of the charging section 432) connected to the ground terminalsTs1 and Ts2 on the accessory 400 is connected to the negative electrodeof the battery BAT by the connection to the grounding line 43 through atleast one of a path between the ground terminal Tp1 and the groundterminal Ts1 and a path between the ground terminal Tp2 and the groundterminal Ts2. For this reason, in the mounted state, the potentials ofthe ground terminals Ts1 and Ts2 and the terminal connected theretoserve as a reference potential based on the potential of the negativeelectrode of the battery BAT.

In the mounted state, the power terminal Ts11 is connected to the powerterminal Tp11 of the camera 10, and the power terminal Ts12 is connectedto the power terminal Tp12 of the camera 10. In the mounted state, theaccessory power source control section 33 is connected to the powersource line 481 through at least one of a path between the powerterminal Tp11 and the power terminal Ts11 and a path between the powerterminal Tp12 and the power terminal Ts12. For this reason, theaccessory power source control section 33 can supply the power PWR,supplied from the battery BAT to the accessory power source controlsection 33, to each of the circuits or electrical parts within theaccessory 400 through the power source line 481, in accordance with thecontrol of the camera control section 170.

In the mounted state, the reference potential terminal Ts3 is connectedto the reference potential terminal Tp3 of the camera 10, and thereference potential terminal Ts5 is connected to the reference potentialterminal Tp5 of the camera 10. In the mounted state, the potential ofthe reference potential terminal Ts3 serves as a potential (referencepotential) of the reference potential terminal Tp3, and the potential ofthe reference potential terminal Ts5 serves as a potential (referencepotential) of the reference potential terminal Tp5.

As shown in FIG. 4, the ground terminal Tp1, the ground terminal Tp2,and the reference potential terminal Tp3 are longer in the slidemovement direction (+Y-axis direction) than the other terminals. Forthis reason, in the present embodiment, when the accessory 400 ismounted on the camera 10, three terminals of the ground terminal Tp1,the ground terminal Tp2, and the reference potential terminal Tp3 comeinto contact with each of the corresponding terminals (ground terminalTs1, ground terminal Ts2, and reference potential terminal Ts3) of theterminal section 423 of the accessory 400 ahead of other terminals.

The startup state providing terminal Ts7 is connected to the groundingline 42 through the reference potential line 480 in a state where theaccessory 400 is mounted on the camera 10, and in a state (on-state)where the second switch section 470 closes a circuit. For this reason,when the second switch section 470 is in an on-state and in a statewhere it is connected to the camera 10 (hereinafter, referred to as thefirst state), the camera control section 170 can detect the startupdetection level DET (SGND level/reference potential level/Low level/Llevel) indicating the second switch section is in the first state,through the startup state providing terminal Ts7 and the startup statedetecting terminal Tp7. In addition, when the second switch section isin a second state mentioned below, the camera control section 170 candetect the startup detection level DET having an electrical leveldifferent from that of the first state. The second state includes anystates of a state where the second switch section 470 is in an off-stateand is mounted on the camera 10, and a state where the accessory 400 isnot mounted on the camera 10.

In the mounted state, the synchronous signal terminal Ts4 is connectedto synchronous signal terminal Tp4 of the camera 10. That is, in themounted state, the accessory control section 440 is connected to thecamera control section 170 through the synchronous signal terminal Tp4and the synchronous signal terminal Ts4. Accordingly, the accessorycontrol section 440 can transmit a synchronous signal CLK for performingsynchronous communication with the camera control section 170 to thecamera control section 170 through the synchronous signal terminal Ts4and the synchronous signal terminal Tp4. In addition, the camera controlsection 170 can transmit a monitor emission control signal for causingthe accessory 400 to perform monitor emission mentioned below to theaccessory control section 440 through the synchronous signal terminalTs4 and the synchronous signal terminal Tp4.

Meanwhile, the monitor emission is emission performed prior to the mainemission used in the main image capture. The result of image capture(monitor image capture) through the monitor emission is used in at leastone of adjustment of white balance such as auto white balance (AWB)control, and exposure control such as auto exposure (AE) control.

In the mounted state, the communication signal terminal Ts6 is connectedto the communication signal terminal Tp6 of the camera 10. That is, inthe mounted state, the accessory control section 440 is connected to thecamera control section 170 through the communication signal terminal Tp6and the communication signal terminal Ts6. For this reason, in themounted state, the camera control section 170 and the accessory controlsection 440 can perform serial data communication through thecommunication signal terminal Tp6 and the communication signal terminalTs6. The communication signal terminals Tp6 and Ts6 can all switchinput/output functions, and communication between both of theseterminals is two-way communication, i.e., it is possible to switchbetween the communication directions. Data communicated as thecommunication signal DATA include the following. Data output from thecamera 10 include a command through which the camera control section 170causes the accessory 400 to execute a process, information regarding thecamera 10 (camera data), and the like. On the other hand, data outputfrom the accessory 400 side include information regarding the accessory400 (accessory information) and the like. In the present embodiment,transmission (or reception) of data indicating a command or informationmay be just called transmission (or reception) of a command orinformation. Meanwhile, in any of the cases where the camera controlsection 170 performs transmission and the accessory control section 440performs transmission, the communication signal DATA is transmitted insynchronization with the synchronous signal CLK output from theaccessory 400.

For example, the camera control section 170 transmits a transmissionnotification command for transmission of information on designated itemsfrom the camera control section 170 to the accessory control section440, to the accessory control section 440. After transmissiontermination of the transmission notification command, the camera controlsection 170 transmits information on the items designated as thetransmission notification command to the accessory control section 440,subsequently to the transmission of the transmission notificationcommand at a predetermined time interval.

In addition, for example, the camera control section 170 can transmit atransmission request command for requesting transmission of thedesignated information from the accessory control section 440 to thecamera control section 170, to the accessory control section 440. Afterreception termination of the transmission request command, the accessorycontrol section 440 transmits the information on the items designated asthe transmission notification command to the camera control section 170,subsequently to the reception of the transmission notification command.

In the mounted state, the communication control signal terminal Ts9 isconnected to the communication control signal terminal Tp9 of the camera10. That is, in the mounted state, the accessory control section 440 isconnected to the camera control section 170 through the communicationcontrol signal terminal Tp9 and the communication control signalterminal Ts9.

For this reason, the camera control section 170 can supply thecommunication control signal Cs to the accessory control section 440through the communication control signal terminal Tp9 and thecommunication control signal terminal Ts9.

Meanwhile, when information such as the above-mentioned “chargingrequest” is transmitted from the accessory 400 side to the camera 10side, the accessory control section 440 transmits information to thecamera control section 170, in the steady communication sequence(described later) started on the basis of the communication controlsignal Cs received from the camera 10 side at the above-mentionedcommunication control signal terminal Ts9.

The communication control signal Cs is a signal for determining thecommunication start timing of communication between the camera 10 andthe accessory 400 through the communication signal terminal Ts6. In theaccessory 400 side, a pull-up resistor is connected to a wiring patternwhich is connected to the communication control signal terminal Ts9. Forthis reason, the signal level of the communication control signal Cs inthe communication signal terminal Ts6 is maintained to an H level beforethe communication start. The signal level of the communication controlsignal Cs is maintained down to an L level by the camera control section170 at the time of the start of data communication through thecommunication signal terminal Ts6. In a period when the signal level ofthe communication control signal Cs is maintained to an L level,multiple bits of data are transmitted and received as the communicationsignal DATA in synchronization with the synchronous signal CLK. Aftermultiple bits of data are transmitted and received, the signal level ofthe communication control signal Cs is maintained to an H level again bythe above-mentioned pull-up resistor, in a period until the transmissionof the next communication signal DATA. In this manner, the communicationcontrol signal Cs is a signal having a low number of switching per unittime of the signal levels (H level and L level), as compared to thecommunication signal DATA and the synchronous signal CLK.

In the mounted state, the emission control signal terminal Ts8 isconnected to the emission control signal terminal Tp8 of the camera 10.That is, in the mounted state, the accessory control section 440 isconnected to the camera control section 170 through the emission controlsignal terminal Tp8 and the emission control signal terminal Ts8.

For this reason, the camera control section 170 can supply the emissioncontrol signal X for causing the accessory 400 to perform emission (mainemission) in synchronization with the image capture timing to theaccessory control section 440 through the emission control signalterminal Ts8 and the emission control signal terminal Tp8. The accessorycontrol section 440 performs the light emission control in accordancewith the emission control signal X.

The charging section 432 includes a booster circuit that boosts avoltage of power supplied through the power source line 481, and anaccumulation section (charge accumulation section) charged by thevoltage boosted in the booster circuit. In addition, the chargingsection 432 is connected to the accessory control section 440 through afirst signal line.

The accessory control section 440 can supply a signal for controllingthe charging section 432 to the charging section 432 through the firstsignal line. The charging section 432 is connected to the accessorycontrol section 440 through a second signal line. The charging section432 can supply information indicating the amount of charging of thecharging section 432 to the accessory control section 440 through thesecond signal line.

The accessory control section 440 supplies a signal for controlling theillumination light source driving section 436 to the illumination lightsource driving section 436 through the signal line. For this reason, theillumination light source 437 can emit light by power supplied throughthe power source line 481 and the illumination light source drivingsection 436.

The turn-on states of the first pilot lamp 455 and the second pilot lamp460 are each controlled by the control signal supplied from theaccessory control section 440 through the signal line. The first pilotlamp 455 is turned on, for example, in a state where the emission of theflash light emitting section 430 is permitted by the accessory controlsection 440. The first pilot lamp 455 is turned off, for example, in astate where the flash light emitting section 430 is not capable of beingcaused to emit light. Similarly to the first pilot lamp 455, the secondpilot lamp 460 is turned on or turned off depending on the state of theillumination light emitting section 435 by the control of the accessorycontrol section 440.

The first power source section 450-1 stabilizes a voltage which is inputto an input terminal of the first power source section 450-1 andsupplies the voltage to a subsequent-stage circuit, on the basis ofpower supplied from the power source line 481. The second power sourcesection 450-2 stabilizes a voltage which is input to the input terminalof the second power source section 450-2 and supplies the voltage to thesubsequent-stage circuit, on the basis of power supplied from the firstpower source section 450-1.

Next, a level switching section 475 will be described.

FIG. 9B is a diagram schematically illustrating the connectionrelationship between the startup state detecting terminal Tp7 and thecamera control section 170. In FIG. 9A, the connection relationshipbetween the startup state detecting terminal Tp7 and the camera controlsection 170 is shown in association with the cross-sectional view of theshoe seat 15. In FIG. 9B, the configuration of the level switchingsection 475 and the connection relationship are shown in associationwith the cross-sectional view of the connector 420.

As shown in FIG. 9A, a voltage is applied to the startup state detectingterminal Tp7 connected to the camera control section 170 through apull-up resistor 482. In a state where the startup state detectingterminal Tp7 is not connected to the startup state providing terminalTs7 of the accessory 400, the potential of the startup state detectingterminal Tp7, that is, the startup detection level DET is in an H (high)level. The H level is set to, for example, a higher potential than thereference potential SGND of the grounding line 42.

The accessory 400 of the present embodiment includes the level switchingsection 475. As shown in FIG. 9B, the level switching section 475includes the first switch section 465, the second switch section 470,the first operating portion 424, and the second operating portion 471.

The first switch section 465 switches the state depending on attachmentand detachment between the camera body 100 and the accessory 400. Thefirst switch section 465 includes a movable member (locking claw 422)and a switch 466 (electrical switch) associated with the movement of thelocking claw 422. The locking claw 422 moves in a predetermineddirection (+Z side in the Z-axis direction) by force received from thecamera body 100 when the accessory 400 is mounted on the camera body100. The switch 466 closes or opens a circuit in association with themovement of the locking claw 422. When the connector 420 is inserted upto a predetermined position of the shoe seat 15, the locking claw 422 ofthe connector 420 protrudes inside the locking hole 27 of the shoe seat15, and thus the switch 466 of the first switch section 465 closes acircuit of FIG. 9B. In addition, when the accessory 400 is mounted onthe camera body 100, the locking claw 422 regulates the movement of theaccessory 400 with respect to the camera body 100 by locking to thecamera body 100.

In addition, when the first switch section 465 performs a detachmentoperation (operation for detaching the connector 420 from the shoe seat15) on the first operating portion 424, the locking claw 422 is moved inthe Z-axis direction by the operation and is thrust from the inside ofthe locking hole 27 toward the accessory main body 410 side.Consequently, the switch 466 opens a circuit of FIG. 9B (opens acircuit).

The second switch section 470 switches the level of the startupdetection level DET by a user's operation. The second switch section 470includes the second operating portion 471 and the switch 472 (electricalswitch).

The second switch section 470 closes or opens the circuit of FIG. 9B(closes the circuit by a function on operation, and opens it by afunction off operation) by the switch 472 associated with the movementof the second operating section 471, in accordance with a user'sfunction on operation or function off operation on the second operatingportion 471.

The first operating portion 424 is operated by a user in order to movethe locking claw 422 in a predetermined direction. The first operatingsection 424 moves the locking claw 422 in a predetermined direction(Z-axis direction) by transmitting force received by the user'soperation to the locking claw 422. When the first operating portion 424is operated in a state where the accessory 400 is mounted on the camerabody 100, the locking claw 422 moves in the Z-axis direction andretreats from the inner side of the locking hole 27 toward the accessorymain body 410. Consequently, the accessory 400 is unfixed to the camerabody 100 and is detached from the camera body 100, and the first switchsection 465 opens a circuit.

The startup state providing terminal Ts7 of the accessory 400 isconnected to the reference potential line 480 through the switch 466 andthe switch 472, in a state where the switch 466 closes a circuit and ina state (position of “on”) where the switch 472 closes a circuit. Whenthe connector 420 is connected to the shoe seat 15, the referencepotential line 480 is electrically connected to the grounding line(SGND/signal ground) 42 of the camera body 100 as explained above.

In a state (mounted state) where the connector 420 is connected to theshoe seat 15, the startup state providing terminal Ts7 of the accessory400 is electrically connected to the grounding line 42 of the camerabody 100, and the potential of the startup state providing terminal Ts7is changed to an L (low) level. In a state where the connector 420 isconnected to the shoe seat 15, the potential of the startup statedetecting terminal Tp7 of the camera body 100 is short-circuited to thestartup state providing terminal Ts7 of the accessory 400, and thus thestartup detection level DET is changed to an L level. The L level is setto the same potential as that of the grounding line 42 (referencepotential SGND). When the first operating portion 424 is operated in astate where the connector 420 is connected to the shoe seat 15, thestartup detection level DET is changed to an H level in order for thefirst switch section 465 to break a circuit. In addition, even when thesecond operating portion 471 of the second switch section 470 is subjectto the function off operation in a state where the connector 420 isconnected to the shoe seat 15, the startup detection level DET ischanged to an H level in order for the switch 472 to break a circuit.That is, in the case where the accessory 400 is mounted on the camera10, the startup detection level DET is changed to an H level, even whenthe operation for detaching the connector 420 from the shoe seat 15 isperformed on the first operating portion 424, even when the function offoperation is operated on the second operating portion 471, or even whenany of the operations are performed.

However, generally, in the camera system, when a short-circuit isgenerated by attachment of dusts and the like between the terminals ofthe terminal section of the accessory or the camera, an unexpectedcurrent flows between the short-circuited terminals, and thus there is apossibility that the camera system is not stably operated. In addition,there is a possibility that the camera system is not stably operated bythe influence of noise (electrical noise) on a signal supplied throughthe terminals between the camera and the accessory. There is apossibility that the camera system does not respond to the user'soperation or causes a response delay due to, for example, an unstableoperation, to thereby lower the convenience.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the accessory 400 of thepresent embodiment is configured such that the terminal arrangement ofthe terminal section 423 is made as follows. The power terminal Ts11 andthe power terminal Ts12 to which power is supplied from the camera 10are arranged in the eleventh and twelfth positions, respectively. Theground terminal Ts1 and the ground terminal Ts2 corresponding to thepower terminal Ts11 and the power terminal Ts12 are arranged in thefirst and second positions, respectively. The startup state providingterminal Ts7 is for outputting the startup detection level DET changesdepending on attachment and detachment between the camera 10 and theaccessory 400 to the camera 10. Terminal Ts7 is arranged in the seventhposition. The emission control signal terminal Ts8, to which theemission control signal X for controlling the light-emitting state ofthe flash light emitting section 430 or the illumination light emittingsection 435 is input from the camera 10, is arranged in the eighthposition. The communication signal terminal Tp6, to which the controlsignal for the controlling the accessory 400 is supplied as thecommunication signal DATA for communicating with the camera 10, isarranged in the sixth position. The synchronous signal terminal Ts4 foroutputting the synchronous signal CLK synchronized with thecommunication signal DATA to the camera 10. Terminal Ts4 is arranged inthe fourth position. The communication control signal terminal Ts9, towhich the communication control signal Cs for determining thecommunication timing of communication between the camera 10 and theaccessory 400 is input from the camera 10, is arranged in the ninthposition. The reference potential terminal Ts3 and the referencepotential terminal Ts5 are arranged in the third and fifth positions,respectively, and the potential thereof serves as a reference potentialof the startup detection level DET, the communication signal DATA, thesynchronous signal CLK, the emission control signal X, and thecommunication control signal Cs.

That is, the power terminal Ts11 and the power terminal Ts12 arearranged biased to one side of the array direction of the terminals, andthe ground terminal Ts1 and the ground terminal Ts2 are arranged biasedto the other side of the array direction of the terminals. Thus, thecamera system 1 is configured such that the power terminals (powerterminal Ts11 and power terminal Ts12) and the ground terminals (groundterminal Ts1 and ground terminal Ts2) are considerably separated fromeach other and thus the generation of a short-circuit between the bothis suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence ofdefects such as a response stop due to the short circuit between thepower terminals and the ground terminals, and to maintain the electricalsafety.

In addition, the accessory 400 has a high freedom of design of the powersource line 481 connected to the power terminal Ts11 and the powerterminal Ts12 or the reference potential line 480 connected to theground terminal Ts1 and the ground terminal Ts2 within the accessory400. In addition, since the power terminals are not arranged betweenmultiple terminals but are arranged against the end of the arrangement,multipolarization thereof is facilitated, and thus a plurality of powerterminals can be designed side by side. As a result, the accessory 400is configured so that, for example, the width of the power source line481 or the reference potential line 480 is easily widened, and thus itis possible to make the resistance of the power source line 481 or thereference potential line 480 lower, and to supply large power throughthe power source line 481 or the reference potential line 480. In thepresent embodiment, as is obvious from being capable of making theresistance thereof lower as mentioned above, it is possible to suppressthe generation of heat in the contact portion, and, as a result, tosuppress the occurrence of defects such as deformation due to thegeneration of heat in the contact portion.

In addition, the communication signal terminal Ts6 supplied with thecommunication signal DATA indicating information necessary for imagecapture is disposed adjacent to the reference potential terminal Ts5supplied with a reference potential. Therefore, the communication signalDATA hardly receives noise from the side opposite to the communicationsignal terminal Ts6 with respect to the reference potential terminalTs5. In addition, the communication signal terminal Ts6 is arrangedadjacent to the startup state providing terminal Ts7 on the sideopposite to the reference potential terminal Ts5 with respect to thecommunication signal terminal Ts6. The startup detection level DET ismaintained to an L level in a state where the camera 10 and theaccessory 400 are capable of communicating with each other. Therefore,in a state where the camera 10 and the accessory 400 are capable ofcommunicating with each other, the communication signal DATA hardlyreceive noise from the side opposite to the communication signalterminal Ts6 with respect to the startup state providing terminal Ts7.In this manner, since the camera system 1 receives little influence fromnoise on the communication signal DATA, it is possible to maintainsafety of communication and to suppress the occurrence of defects suchas malfunction due to the influence of noise on the communication signalDATA.

In addition, the emission control signal terminal Ts8 is arrangedadjacent to the startup state providing terminal Ts7. The startupdetection level DET is maintained to an L level when the camera 10 andthe accessory 400 are capable of communicating with each other.Therefore, the emission control signal X hardly receives noise from theside opposite to the startup state providing terminal Ts7 with respectto the emission control signal terminal Ts8. In addition, the emissioncontrol signal terminal Ts8 is adjacent to the communication controlsignal terminal Ts9 on the side opposite to the startup state providingterminal Ts7 with respect to the emission control signal terminal Ts8.The communication control signal Cs is maintained in an L level in aperiod where multiple bits of data are communicated in synchronizationwith the synchronous signal CLK, and is maintained to an H level in aperiod until data communication is terminated and then the next datacommunication is started. In this manner, switching of the signal levelof the communication control signal Cs is performed at a lower frequencythan any of the synchronous signal CLK and the communication signalDATA. Consequently, the emission control signal X is hardly influencedby noise from the side opposite to the communication control signalterminal Ts9 with respect to the emission control signal terminal Ts8.In this manner, since the camera system 1 receives little influence fromnoise on the emission control signal X, it is possible to maintainsafety of communication, and to suppress the occurrence of defects suchas malfunction (erroneous emission operation) due to the influence ofnoise on the emission control signal X.

In addition, the startup state providing terminal Ts7 is arrangedadjacent to the communication signal terminal Ts6.

The communication signal DATA is maintained to an H level in a statewhere the camera control section 170 does not transmit and receive data.Therefore, when the startup state providing terminal Ts7 isshort-circuited to the communication signal terminal Ts6, the startupdetection level DET is changed to an H level, and the camera controlsection 170 determines that the accessory 400 is not mounted. Thus, whenthe accessory 400 is in an off-state, the camera system 1 detects thatthe accessory 400 is in an on-state and thus the occurrence ofmalfunction can be suppressed. In addition, the startup state providingterminal Ts7 is arranged adjacent to the emission control signalterminal Ts8. The emission control signal X is maintained to an H levelin a state where the camera control section 170 causes thelight-emitting section 425 not to emit light, and is changed to an Llevel when the camera control section 170 causes the light-emittingsection 425 to emit light. Therefore, when the startup state providingterminal Ts7 is short-circuited to the emission control signal terminalTs8, the startup detection level is changed to an H level, and thecamera control section 170 determines that the accessory 400 is notmounted. Thus, when the accessory 400 is in an off-state, the camerasystem 1 detects that the accessory 400 is in an on-state, and thus itis possible to suppress the occurrence of malfunction and to enhance theelectrical safety.

In addition, when the accessory 400 is detached from the camera 10, theterminal Tp6 is also maintained at an H level by a pull-up resistor atthe camera body 100 side as mentioned above, and the terminal Tp8 is atan H level normally (in a case other than the case where an emissionsignal is sent). For this reason, even when the terminal Tp7, which isexposed, on the camera body 100 side is short-circuited to the adjacentterminal (Tp6 or Tp8) due to, for example, dust or the like, the camerabody 100 does not make an erroneous determination (erroneousdetermination that the accessory is mounted and is in a startup state).

In the present embodiment, the synchronous signal terminal Ts4 isarranged adjacent to the reference potential terminal Ts5 supplied witha reference potential. Therefore, the synchronous signal CLK is hardlyinfluenced by disturbances (such as noise) from the side (terminal Ts6side) opposite to the synchronous signal terminal Ts4 with respect tothe reference potential terminal Ts5. In addition, the synchronoussignal terminal Ts4 is arranged adjacent to the reference potentialterminal Ts3 supplied with a reference potential, on the side oppositeto the reference potential terminal Ts5 with respect to the synchronoussignal terminal Ts4. Therefore, the synchronous signal CLK is hardlyinfluenced by disturbance (such as noise) from the side (ground terminalTs2 side) opposite to the synchronous signal terminal Ts4 with respectto the reference potential terminal Ts3. In addition, since the terminalarranged on the side opposite to the synchronous signal terminal Ts4with respect to the reference potential terminal Ts3 is the groundterminal Ts2, and the potential of the ground terminal Ts2 issubstantially the same potential as a reference potential, thesynchronous signal CLK hardly receives noise. In this manner, since thecamera system 1 receives little influence from noise on the synchronoussignal CLK, it is possible to maintain safety of communication, and tosuppress the occurrence of defects such as malfunction due to theinfluence of noise on the synchronous signal CLK serving as a referencesignal of communication.

In addition, the level switching section 475 switches the state(electrical level) of the startup detection level DET in accordance withthe operation of detaching the accessory 400 from the camera 10 or thefunction off operation. Therefore, the camera 10 can control theaccessory 400 in accordance with the detachment operation of accessory400 or the function off operation, and stably control the accessory 400.In addition, in the camera system 1, the camera control section 170detects that, for example, the accessory 400 is mounted on the camera 10and is subject to the function on operation, and the camera controlsection 170 can start the control of the accessory 400 on the basis ofthe detection result. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the timeuntil the accessory 400 is mounted and then is capable of being causedto function.

In addition, in the camera system 1, the open terminal Ts10 is arrangedbetween a power terminal group (Ts11 and Ts12) and a terminal group forcommunication or detection (Ts4 and Ts6 to Ts9; also called acommunication terminal group), and thus it is possible to reduce apossibility that electrical disturbance (such as noise) from a powersource adversely influences a communication terminal group. In addition,although the open terminal Ts10 is actually arranged in the presentembodiment, it is possible to equalize contact force (contact pressure)between each of the terminals on the respective other side in theentirety of twelve terminals (compared to the configuration in which theopen terminal Ts10 is not arranged and no terminal is present in thisposition), by providing the terminal Ts10.

Additionally, as mentioned above, the open terminal Ts10 is a terminalwhich is preliminarily provided for a future function expansion, and isa terminal which is not connected to the circuit. For this reason, inthe present embodiment, the terminal Ts10 does not have any functionaloperation. For this reason, even when the accessory 400 does not includethe open terminal Ts10, the accessory operates (functions) as theaccessory 400 and as a camera system. For this reason, for example, inorder to reduce the number of parts, the open terminal Ts10 may beomitted on the accessory 400. The same is true of the camera body 100.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the ground terminal Tp1, the groundterminal Tp2, and the reference potential terminal Tp3 of the terminalsection 25 in the shoe seat 15 protrude further than the terminals Tp4to Tp12 toward the direction (−Y side) of penetration when the connector420 is installed.

Consequently, the ground terminal Tp1, the ground terminal Tp2, and thereference potential terminal Tp3 are connected to the ground terminalTp1, the ground terminal Tp2, and the reference potential terminal Tp3of the connector 420, respectively, ahead of any of the terminalsindicated by signs Tp4 to Tp12. As a result, the startup state providingterminal Ts7 of the accessory 400 can stably output the startupdetection level DET in a state where the accessory 400 is mounted on thecamera body 100.

As stated above, the accessory 400 can suppress the occurrence ofmalfunction, and enhance the convenience of the camera system 1. Inaddition, the camera 10, the shoe seat 15, and the connector 420 are allformed in the terminal arrangement as mentioned above, and thus it ispossible to enhance the convenience of the camera system 1.

Meanwhile, one of the power terminal Tp11 and the power terminal Tp12can be omitted. Thereby, the number of parts can be reduced. Inaddition, an open terminal may be provided, for example, instead of oneterminal of the power terminal Tp11 and the power terminal Tp12. Thepower terminal Tp11 and the power terminal Tp12 can be formed integrallywith each other. Similarly to the power terminal Tp11 and the powerterminal Tp12, one of the ground terminal Tp1 and the ground terminalTp2 may be omitted. Thereby, the number of parts can be reduced. Inaddition, an open terminal may be disposed, for example, instead of oneterminal of the ground terminal Tp1 and the ground terminal Tp2. Theground terminal Tp1 and the ground terminal Tp2 can be formed integrallywith each other. In addition, the terminals arranged between the powerterminal including at least one of the power terminal Tp11 and the powerterminal Tp12, and the ground terminal including at least one of theground terminal Tp1 and the ground terminal Tp2 can include one, two ormore, or all of the terminals indicated by signs Tp3 to sign Tp10.

Meanwhile, the configuration in which the emission control signalterminal Tp8 is sandwiched between the startup state detecting terminalTp7 and the communication control signal terminal Tp9 includes aconfiguration in which when an integer equal to or greater than 2 is setto L, in the terminal arrangement of the terminal section 25, thestartup state detecting terminal Tp7 is arranged in the (L−1)-thposition, the emission control signal terminal Tp8 is arranged in theL-th position, and the communication control signal terminal Tp9 isarranged in the (L+1)-th position. For example, when L is equal to 6,the terminal arrangement of the terminal section, the startup statedetecting terminal Tp7 is arranged in the fifth position, the emissioncontrol signal terminal Tp8 is arranged in the sixth position, and thecommunication control signal terminal Tp9 is arranged in the seventhposition.

Meanwhile, the configuration in which the communication signal terminalTp6 is sandwiched between the startup state detecting terminal Tp7 andthe emission control signal terminal Tp8 includes a configuration inwhich when an integer equal to or greater than 2 is set to M, in theterminal arrangement of the terminal section 25, the communicationsignal terminal Tp6 is arranged in the (M−1)-th position, the startupstate detecting terminal Tp7 is arranged in the M-th position, and theemission control signal terminal Tp8 is arranged in the (M+1)-thposition. For example, when M is equal to 4, the terminal arrangement ofthe terminal section, the communication signal terminal Tp6 is arrangedin the third position, the startup state detecting terminal Tp7 isarranged in the fourth position, and the emission control signalterminal Tp8 is arranged in the fifth position.

Meanwhile, the configuration in which the communication signal terminalTp6 is sandwiched between the reference potential terminal Tp5 and thestartup state detecting terminal Tp7 includes a configuration in whichwhen an integer equal to or greater than 2 is set to N, in the terminalarrangement of the terminal section 25, the reference potential terminalTp5 is arranged in the (N−1)-th position, the communication signalterminal Tp6 is arranged in the N-th position, and the startup statedetecting terminal Tp7 is arranged in the (N+1)-th position. Forexample, when N is equal to 8, in the terminal arrangement of theterminal section, the reference potential terminal Tp5 is arranged inthe seventh position, the communication signal terminal Tp6 is arrangedin the eighth position, and the startup state detecting terminal Tp7 isarranged in the ninth position.

Meanwhile, the configuration in which the synchronous signal terminalTp4 is sandwiched between the reference potential terminal Tp3 and thereference potential terminal Tp5 includes a configuration in which whenan integer equal to or greater than 2 is set to P, in the terminalarrangement of the terminal section 25, the reference potential terminalTp3 is arranged in the (P−1)-th position, the synchronous signalterminal Tp4 is arranged in the P-th position, and the referencepotential terminal Tp5 is arranged in the (P+1)-th position. Forexample, when P is equal to 6, in the terminal arrangement of theterminal section, the reference potential terminal Tp3 is arranged inthe fifth position, the synchronous signal terminal Tp4 is arranged inthe sixth position, and the reference potential terminal Tp5 is arrangedin the seventh position.

In this manner, in the camera system 1, the convenience can be enhancedfor a similar reason to that in the case of the terminal arrangementexplained by using the FIG. 5 and the like, by arranging the terminalsTp1 to Tp12 in the positions as mentioned above.

Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, the number indicating thearrangement of each of the terminals is the number ascending from oneside (+X side) in the array direction (X-axis direction) of theterminals toward the other side (−X) side, but may be the numberascending from the other side (−X side) toward one side (+X) side. Inthis case, in the terminal arrangement of the terminal section 25, thefirst and second terminals serve as the power terminal Tp12 and thepower terminal Tp11, respectively, and the eleventh and twelfth terminalserve as the ground terminal Tp2 and the ground terminal Tp1,respectively. In addition, the modified arrangement of the terminals inthe terminal section 25 of the camera body 100 as mentioned above can beapplied to the arrangement of the terminals in the terminal section 423of the accessory 400.

Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, the image capture lens 200 shownin FIG. 1 is attachable and detachable to and from the camera body 100,but may not be attachable and detachable to and from the camera body 100and may be formed integrally with the camera body 100. At least aportion of the image capture lens 200 may be receivable in the camerabody 100. In the present embodiment, the camera 10 may include at leastthe camera body 100, and may not include the image capture lens 200.That is, the image capture lens 200 may be an external device(accessory) of the camera, and may be a component of the camera system1. In addition, the accessory 400 can have a structure in which it canbe electrically connected between the connector 420 and the shoe seat 15through a cable or the like, and may be held by a separate device fromthe camera body 100, for example, a tripod or the like.

Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, the battery compartment 110 shownin FIG. 6 is built-in to the camera body 100, but the batterycompartment 110 may be external component (accessory) of the camera body100. For example, the battery compartment 110 may be attachable outsidethe camera body 100. In addition, the camera system 1 can also operatethe components of the camera system 1 by power supplied from the outsideof the camera body 100 through an AC adapter or the like. The camerasystem 1 can supply the power from the outside to each of the componentsof the camera system 1, similarly to power supplied from the battery BATreceived in the battery compartment 110.

Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, the memory 140 shown in FIG. 6 maybe built-in to the camera body 100, or may be a device (accessory)located outside the camera body 100.

Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, the first pilot lamp 455 shown inFIG. 2 indicates an emittable state of the flash light emitting section430 by switching between turn-on and turn-off, but may be configured toindicate an emittable state of the flash light emitting section 430 bychanging the wavelength of light emitted, the period for which turn-onand turn-off are repeated, or the like. Similarly to the first pilotlamp 455, the second pilot lamp 460 may be configured to indicate anemittable state of the illumination light emitting section 435 by changein the wavelength of light emitted, the period for which turn-on andturn-off are repeated, or the like.

Next, a process procedure in the camera system will be described. In thefollowing description, the same processes are assigned the samereference numerals and signs, and the description thereof may besimplified or omitted.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating a procedure of processes in thecamera system. The camera system 1 performs a series of processes(startup sequence) for starting up the accessory 400. In the startupsequence (step S1), the camera system 1 performs a series of processes(communication preparation sequence) so that communication between thecamera 10 and the accessory 400 becomes possible (step S2). After thecommunication preparation sequence is terminated in the startupsequence, the camera system 1 performs a series of processes (initialcommunication sequence) for mutually communicating information necessaryfor image capture between the camera control section 170 and theaccessory control section 440 (step S3). After the initial communicationsequence is terminated, the camera system 1 performs a series ofprocesses (steady communication sequence) for mutually communicatingbetween the camera control section 170 and the accessory control section440 so as to be capable of updating information varied by a settingchange or the like (step S4).

After the steady communication sequence is terminated, the cameracontrol section 170 performs a determination process of determiningwhether an interrupt request is present (step S5). When it is determinedin step S5 that the interrupt request is not present (step S5; No), thecamera system 1 performs the process of the steady communicationsequence once again.

When it is determined in step S5 that the interrupt request is present(step S5; Yes), the camera system 1 performs an interrupt process (stepS6). The interrupt process is, for example, a series of processesincluded in an image capturing sequence. After the interrupt process isterminated, the camera system 1 performs the process of the steadycommunication sequence once again. That is, the camera system 1 does notperform the process of the steady communication sequence in the imagecapturing sequence.

Next, a communication preparation sequence will be described. In thecommunication preparation sequence, the camera system 1 detects whetherthe accessory 400 is mounted on the camera body 100 in an on-state. Whenthe accessory 400 is mounted on the camera body 100 in an on-state, thecamera system 1 starts a supply of power to the accessory 400, and thecamera body 100 notifies the accessory 400 that communication ispermitted. Hereinafter, an example of a process flow in thecommunication preparation sequence will be described.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes in thecommunication preparation sequence.

When the accessory 400 is mounted on the camera 10 and the second switchsection 470 closes a circuit (position of “on”), the signal level of thestartup detection level DET output by the level switching section 475(see FIG. 9B) is changed to an L (low) level (step S101). The cameracontrol section 170 performs a determination process of determiningwhether the startup detection level DET is an L level (step S102). Whenit is determined in step S102 that the startup detection level DET isnot an L level (step S102; No), the camera control section 170determines that the accessory 400 is not mounted on the camera 10, andperforms the determination process of step S102 once again.

When it is determined in step S102 that the startup detection level DETis an L level (step S102; Yes), the camera control section 170 performsa control for starting a supply of power from the camera 10 to theaccessory 400 (step S103). In step S103, the camera control section 170controls the accessory power source control section 33, and causes theaccessory power source control section 33 to start a supply of powerfrom the camera 10 to the accessory 400. The accessory control section440 (first power source section 450-1 and second power source section450-2) is started up by power supplied from the camera 10 through thepower source section 450.

After the control of step S103 is terminated, the camera control section170 notifies the accessory control section 440 of communicationpermission (step S104). The potential of the communication controlsignal terminal Tp9 of the camera 10, that is, the signal level of thecommunication control signal Cs is in an L level in a state where thecamera control section 170 determines that the accessory 400 is notmounted on the camera 10.

The accessory control section 440 performs a determination process ofdetermining whether the potential of the communication control signalterminal Ts9, that is, the signal level of the communication controlsignal Cs is an H level (step S105). When it is determined in step S105that the communication control signal Cs is not in an H level (stepS105; No), the accessory control section 440 performs the determinationprocess of step S105 once again. When it is determined in step S105 thatthe communication control signal Cs is in an H level (step S105; Yes),the accessory control section 440 recognizes that communication with thecamera control section 170 is permitted.

The communication preparation sequence is terminated after the cameracontrol section 170 gives notice of communication permission by raisingthe communication control signal Cs to an H level in step S104, and theaccessory control section 440 recognizes that communication with thecamera control section 170 is permitted.

In this manner, the camera system 1 starts supply of power to theaccessory 400 on the basis of the startup detection level DET outputfrom the accessory 400, and thus reliability of the control for a supplyof power to the accessory 400 is increased. In addition, the camerasystem 1 gives notice of communication permission after the cameracontrol section 170 starts the supply of power to the accessory 400.Consequently, in the camera system 1, the accessory control section 440is notified of communication permission in a state where the accessory400 is started up, thereby allowing the start of communication betweenthe camera 10 and the accessory 400 to be stably controlled. In thismanner, the camera system 1 exhibits greater convenience, since thesystem can stably control the accessory 400, and is stably operated.

Meanwhile, the startup detection level DET of the camera 10 is changedto an H level when the second switch section 470 of the accessory 400mounted on the camera 10 is in a state (“off” position) where it opens acircuit. In this case, the camera control section 170 determines thatthe accessory 400 is not mounted on the camera 10. That is, when thesecond switch section 470 is positioned in an “off” position, theaccessory 400 cannot be supplied with power from the camera 10, and thusis not started up (in other words, “does not function”). In this manner,the second switch section 470 substantially functions as a power switch(function on/off switch) of the accessory 400.

Next, processes in the initial communication sequence will be described.In the initial communication sequence, the camera system 1 mutuallysends information required for image capture between the camera 10 andthe accessory 400. In the initial communication sequence, the camera 10and the accessory 400 transmit and receive a plurality of informationitems in accordance with a predetermined order. As the initialconditions of processes in the initial communication sequence,information (first response information, first information) includingaccessory type information indicating an accessory type is previouslystored in the storage section 444 of the accessory 400. The accessorytype information includes function type information and battery presenceor absence information.

The function type information is information (type information)indicating types of objects to be controlled by the accessory controlsection 440. The objects to be controlled by the accessory controlsection 440 include the illumination light emitting section 435 causingan illumination light emitting function to work, the flash lightemitting section 430 causing a flash light emitting function to work, aGPS function section causing a GPS function to work, a multi-turn-oncommander function section causing a multi-turn-on commander function towork, and the like. The objects to be controlled are divided into aplurality of groups in accordance with the type of the function of eachobject to be controlled. The objects to be controlled relating to alight-emitting function, that is, the flash light emitting section 430and the illumination light emitting section 435, belong to a firstgroup. The objects to be controlled relating to functions other than thelight-emitting function, for example, the GPS function section and themulti-turn-on commander function section, belong to a second group. Inthis manner, the type information is information indicating a list ofthe types of functions included in the accessory 400.

The battery presence or absence information is information (in otherwords, information indicating whether the accessory 400 side suppliespower consumed in the accessory 400 side for itself) indicating whethera power source such as a battery is included on the accessory 400 side.The battery presence or absence information is information used in thecontrol (described later) or the like in which power is supplied to theaccessory 400 by the camera 10. The detailed description of the batterypresence or absence information will be given later.

In addition, characteristics information (second response information,second information) indicating the characteristics of each functionincluded in the accessory 400 is previously stored in the storagesection 444. The characteristics information includes informationindicating the characteristics of each function section which takescharge of each function of the accessory 400. For example, thecharacteristics information of the flash light emitting functionincludes information (profile information) indicating the emissioncharacteristics of the flash light emitting section 430. Thecharacteristics information of the illumination light emitting functionincludes information (illumination profile information) indicating theemission characteristics of the illumination light emitting section 435(LED for image capture illumination), and information indicating thelongest time (longest turn-on time) for which the illumination lightemitting section 435 is capable of continuously emitting light. Thelongest turn-on time is, for example, the time which is set in advance,as an upper limit of the allowable range of the continuous turn-on time.In addition, when the extended function is, for example, a GPS function,the characteristic information of the extended function includesinformation indicating the type of an object to be positioned (such aslatitude, longitude, and time), or the like. In addition, thecharacteristic information of the multi-turn-on commander functionincludes, for example, information indicating how many illuminatingdevices (strobes) a command can be transmitted to, or the like.

The camera control section 170 transmits each item of information,regarding a plurality of information items for requesting transmissionfrom the accessory control section 440, to the accessory control section440, in accordance with a predetermined order (request order).Information is previously stored in the storage section 444 so that theaccessory control section 440 can read out information sequentially inaccordance with the request order. The accessory control section 440reads out information from the storage section 444 in accordance withthe request order, and transmits the communication signal DATAindicating readout information to the camera control section 170. Inaddition, the camera control section 170 transmits camera initial stateinformation indicating an initial state of the camera body 100 to theaccessory control section 440, in order previously set with respect tothe request order. The initial state information is previously stored inthe storage section 158 of the camera body 100. The camera initial stateinformation includes monitor charging permission information and thelike. The monitor charging permission information is used in a chargingcontrol described later. Hereinafter, an example of a process flow inthe initial communication sequence will be described.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes in theinitial communication sequence. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating aprocedure of processes subsequent to FIG. 12. In FIGS. 12 and 13,similarly to FIG. 11, a left flow in the drawing is the processingdetails in the camera control section 170 of the camera body 100, and aright flow in the drawing is the processing details in the accessorycontrol section 440 of the accessory 400.

When the communication preparation sequence (see FIGS. 9B and 10) isterminated and then the initial communication sequence is started, thecamera control section 170 transmits a transmission request command C1for requesting transmission of information included in the accessoryinitial state information to the accessory control section 440, andprepares for receiving the accessory initial state information (stepS201). The transmission request command C1 is request informationindicating that the camera control section 170 requests transmission ofthe accessory type information of the accessory initial stateinformation.

The accessory control section 440 receives the transmission requestcommand C1 (step S202). The accessory control section 440 previouslystores response information responding in accordance with the requestinformation (transmission request command C1) from the camera controlsection 170 in the storage section 444, before the transmission thereofto the camera control section 170. The accessory control section 440reads out the response information stored in the storage section 444 andsends (transmits) the readout response information to the camera controlsection 170, in accordance with the request information sent from thecamera control section 170 (step S203). The camera control section 170receives the battery presence or absence information and the functiontype information (step S204).

The camera control section 170 transmits a transmission notificationcommand C20 for transmission of the above-mentioned “camera initialstate information” to the accessory control section 440, and preparesfor transmitting the camera initial state information (step S204A). Theaccessory control section 440 receives the transmission notificationcommand C20, and prepares for receiving the camera initial stateinformation (step S204B). The camera control section 170 transmits thetransmission notification command C20 in step S204A, and then transmitsthe camera initial state information to the accessory control section440 (step S204C). The accessory control section 440 receives the camerainitial state information (step S204D).

The camera control section 170 determines whether the accessory 400 hasan extended function, on the basis of the function type informationreceived in step S204 (step S205). When it is determined in step S205that the accessory 400 has an extended function (step S205; Yes), thecamera control section 170 transmits a transmission request command C2for requesting transmission of characteristics information indicatingthe details of the extended function to the accessory control section440 (step S206). The accessory control section 440 receives thetransmission request command C2 (step S207), and transmits thecharacteristics information of the extended function to the cameracontrol section 170, in accordance with the transmission request commandC2 (step S208). The camera control section 170 receives thecharacteristics information of the extended function (step S209).

When it is determined in step S205 that a priority function (forexample, GPS function) is included as the extended function, the cameracontrol section 170 can receive characteristics information of thepriority function in step S209 by designating the priority function onthe basis of the transmission request command C2. This priority functionis a function in which a function for a setting to be in an on-state(effective) preferentially out of the functions included in theaccessory 400 is previously set. When the characteristics information ofthe priority function is received in step S209, the camera controlsection 170 processes the priority function preferentially over otherfunctions within the accessory 400. The camera control section 170 cantransmit, for example, a command for making the priority functioneffective to the accessory control section 440 (for this reason, thestartup of the extended function can be expedited).

After the reception of the characteristics information of the extendedfunction is terminated, or when it is determined in step S205 that theaccessory 400 does not have the extended function (step S205; No), thecamera control section 170 determines whether the accessory 400 has theillumination light emitting function, on the basis of the function typeinformation received in step S204 (step S210). When it is determined instep S210 that the accessory 400 has the illumination light emittingfunction (step S210; Yes), the camera control section 170 transmits atransmission request command C3 for requesting transmission of initialstate information (third response information, third information) of theillumination light emitting function to the accessory control section440 (step S211). The accessory control section 440 receives thetransmission request command C3 (step S212), and transmits the initialstate information of the illumination light emitting function to cameracontrol section 170, in accordance with the transmission request commandC3 (step S213). The camera control section 170 receives the initialstate information of the illumination light emitting function (stepS214).

When it is determined in step S210 that the accessory 400 does not havethe illumination light emitting function (step S210; No), the cameracontrol section 170 determines whether the accessory 400 has the flashlight emitting function, on the basis of the function type informationreceived in step S204 (step S215). When it is determined in step S215that the accessory 400 does not have the flash light emitting function(step S215; No), the camera control section 170 determines whether theaccessory 400 has a function which does not correspond to any of theillumination light emitting function and the flash light emittingfunction, for example, the multi-turn-on commander function, or thelike, on the basis of the function type information received in stepS204 (step S216). In this manner, the accessory 400 may not have boththe illumination light emitting function and the flash light emittingfunction. The light-emitting section 425 of which the light-emittingstate is controlled by the accessory control section 440 may be providedin a separate device different from the accessory 400.

After the process of step S214 is terminated, or when it is determinedin step S215 that the accessory 400 has the flash light emittingfunction (step S215; Yes), or after the process of step S216 isterminated, the camera control section 170 transmits a transmissionrequest command C4, for requesting transmission of settable informationindicating a function capable of setting the characteristics in thefunction of the accessory 400, to the accessory control section 440(step S217). After the transmission request command C4 is received (stepS218), the accessory 400 transmits the settable information of theaccessory 400 to the camera control section 170 (step S219). The cameracontrol section 170 receives the settable information of the accessory400 (step S220).

The camera control section 170 transmits a transmission request commandC5 for requesting transmission of profile information indicating aprofile of the accessory 400 to the accessory control section 440 (stepS221).

In the present embodiment, the profile information is informationindicating the characteristics of the flash light emitting function. Theprofile information includes, for example, information indicating theemission characteristics of the flash light source 431. The emissioncharacteristics of the flash light source 431 include, for example, atleast one of the amount of light (brightness) and the wavelength (shade)of light emitted by the flash light source 431. The profile informationis used in the AWB control or the like, for example, in an image capturemode causing the flash light emitting function to work.

After the transmission request command C5 is received (step S222), theaccessory 400 transmits the profile information to the camera controlsection 170 (step S223). The camera control section 170 receives theprofile information (step S224).

The camera control section 170 determines whether the accessory 400 hasthe illumination light emitting function, on the basis of the functiontype information received in step S204 (step S225). When it isdetermined in step S225 that the accessory 400 has the illuminationlight emitting function (step S225; Yes), the camera control section 170transmits a transmission request command C6 for requesting transmissionof the illumination profile information to the accessory control section440 (step S226).

In the present embodiment, the illumination profile information isinformation indicating the characteristics of the illumination lightemitting function. The illumination profile information includes, forexample, information indicating the emission characteristics of theillumination light source 437. The emission characteristics of theillumination light source 437 include, for example, at least one of theamount of light (brightness) and the wavelength (shade) of light emittedby the flash light source 431. The illumination profile information isused in the AE control, the AWB control or the like, for example, in animage capture mode causing the illumination light emitting function towork.

After the transmission request command C6 is received (step S227), theaccessory control section 440 transmits the illumination profileinformation to the camera control section 170 (step S228). The cameracontrol section 170 receives the illumination profile information (stepS229).

When it is determined in step S225 that the accessory 400 does not havethe illumination light emitting function (step S225; No), or after theprocess of step S229 is terminated, the camera control section 170transmits a transmission request command C7 for requesting transmissionof the accessory setting state information to the accessory controlsection 440 (step S230). After the transmission request command C7 isreceived (step S231), the accessory 400 transmits the accessory settingstate information to the camera control section 170 (step S232). Thecamera control section 170 receives the accessory setting stateinformation (step S233).

The camera control section 170 transmits a transmission notificationcommand C8 for transmission of the above-mentioned “camera setting stateinformation” to the accessory control section 440 (step S234). Theaccessory 400 receives the transmission notification command C8 (stepS235). The camera control section 170 transmits the camera setting stateinformation to the accessory control section 440 (step S236). Theaccessory control section 440 receives the camera setting stateinformation (step S237).

A transmission request command C9 for requesting transmission of theaccessory setting state information is transmitted to the accessorycontrol section 440 (step S238). After the transmission request commandC9 is received (step S239), the accessory 400 transmits the accessorysetting state information to the camera control section 170 (step S240).The camera control section 170 receives the accessory setting stateinformation (step S241). After the process of step S241 is terminated,the initial communication sequence is terminated.

The following processes are performed in the camera system 1, inaccordance with the procedure of the above-mentioned initialcommunication sequence. A first process included in the procedure of theinitial communication sequence includes a process in which the accessorycontrol section 440 sends information stored in the storage section 444as a response to the transmission request from the camera controlsection 170. The response process to the transmission request isperformed, for example, in accordance with a control procedure given asfollows.

As mentioned above, the storage section 444 previously stores responseinformation responding in accordance with request information from thecamera control section 170. For example, the accessory control section440 sends the response information stored in the storage section 444 tothe camera control section 170, in accordance with the requestinformation (see step S203) sent from the camera control section 170(see step S204). By using such a process, for example, the accessorycontrol section 440 transmits type information of an object to becontrolled by the accessory control section 440 to the camera controlsection 170, in accordance with the request information from the cameracontrol section 170.

In addition, when the storage section 444 stores the first responseinformation including the type information indicating the type of theobject to be controlled by the accessory control section 440, theaccessory control section 440 sends the first response information tothe camera control section 170, in accordance with the requestinformation sent from the camera.

In addition, the storage section 444 may store the second responseinformation including detail information of the object to be controlledby the accessory control section 440 in performing the control of theobject to be controlled by the accessory control section 440, inassociation with the type information in the first response information.In this case, the accessory control section 440 sends the secondresponse information to the camera control section 170, in accordancewith the request information sent from the camera control section 170.

In addition, the accessory control section 440 sends the second responseinformation to the camera control section 170 at the timing (see stepS208) different from the timing (see step S203) of sending the firstresponse information. For example, after the first response informationis sent to the camera control section 170 (see step S203), the accessorycontrol section 440 sends the second response information to the camera10, in accordance with the request information sent from the cameracontrol section 170 (see step S208).

In addition, the accessory control section 440 may be required tocontrol a plurality of objects to be controlled. In such a case, thestorage section 444 stores, for each object to be controlled, the secondresponse information including the detail information of the object tobe controlled by the accessory control section 440, with respect to eachof the plurality of objects to be controlled, in association with thetype information of the object to be controlled. The accessory controlsection 440 sends the second response information, including the detailinformation of the object to be controlled, which is designated by therequest information sent from the camera control section 170 out of aplurality of objects to be controlled, to the camera control section170. For example, the accessory control section 440 transmits thecharacteristics information of the extended function (for example, GPSfunction), in accordance with the request information (see step S207) ofthe camera control section 170 (see step S208). In addition, theaccessory control section 440 transmits characteristics information ofthe illumination light emitting function, in accordance with requestinformation (see step S212) of the camera control section 170 regardinga separate function (for example, illumination light emitting function)from the characteristics information of the extended function (see stepS213).

In addition, a plurality of objects to be controlled may be divided intoa plurality of groups depending on the type of the object to becontrolled by the accessory control section 440. In the presentembodiment, the objects to be controlled belonging to a first groupinclude the flash light emitting section 430 and the illumination lightemitting section 435 which take charge of the light-emitting function.Functions of the objects to be controlled belonging to the first groupmay be set to basic functions included in the accessory 400. Inaddition, the objects to be controlled belonging to a second groupinclude, for example, the GPS function section and the like which takecharge of functions other than the light-emitting function. Functions ofthe objects to be controlled belonging to the second group may be set tothe extended function included in the accessory 400.

The accessory control section 440 sends the third response information,including detail information of the objects to be controlled (forexample, illumination light emitting section 435) belonging to the firstgroup of a plurality of groups, to the camera control section 170 as thesecond response information (see step S213). When there are objects tobe controlled belonging to the second group different from the firstgroup of a plurality of groups, the accessory control section 440 sendsfourth response information including detail information of the objectsto be controlled belonging to the second group to the camera 10 as asecond response signal, after the first response information is sent(see step S203), and before the third response information is sent (stepS213) (step S208).

In this manner, the camera system 1 performs a process in which theaccessory control section 440 responds to the transmission request fromthe camera control section 170, and thus the occurrence of a failure orthe like of communication due to, for example, mismatching between therequest information and the response information is suppressed. Inaddition, in the camera system 1, for example, the accessory 400 ismounted on the camera 10, and then the presence or absence of theextended function is first determined on the basis of the first responseinformation. When it is determined that the extended function is“present” in the accessory 400 side, the camera 10 side acquiresinformation (fourth response information, fourth information) earlyregarding the extended function. Therefore, a preparation operation forthe extended function can be expedited on the camera 10 side on thebasis of the extended function information acquired early. For example,in the case of the accessory provided with the GPS function as theextended function, it is possible to early start the acquisition of GPSpositioning information early, and to start a transmission process(reception process on the camera 10 side) to the camera 10 side. In thismanner, the camera system 1 has greater convenience.

Next, a process in a control of supplying power to the accessory 400(hereinafter, called the power supply control) will be described. In thepower supply control, the camera system 1 starts a supply of power fromthe camera 10 to the accessory 400. The camera system 1 controls asupply of power from the camera 10 to the accessory 400 on the basis ofinformation indicating whether to supply power consumed in the accessory400 from a power source mounted on the accessory 400. Hereinafter, anexample of a process flow in a control of supplying power to theaccessory 400 will be described.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes in a controlof supplying power to the accessory. Processes of step S101 to step S105of processes shown in FIG. 14 are processes similar to the processesdescribed in the communication preparation sequence (see FIG. 11). Withthe processes of step S101 to step S105, the camera control section 170starts a supply of power to the accessory 400, in the communicationpreparation sequence, on the basis of the signal level of the startupdetection level DET (see step S103).

In addition, processes of step S201 to step S204 of processes shown inFIG. 14 are processes similar to the processes described in the initialcommunication sequence (see FIG. 12). In the process of step S204, thecamera control section 170 receives, for example, battery presence orabsence information from the accessory control section 440, asinformation indicating whether to supply the power consumed in theaccessory 400 from the power source mounted on the accessory 400.

After the process of step S204 is terminated, the camera control section170 determines whether a battery is mounted on the accessory 400, on thebasis of the battery presence or absence information received in stepS204 (step S250). When it is determined in a determination process ofstep S250 that the battery is mounted on the accessory 400 (step S250;Yes), the camera control section 170 performs a control for stopping asupply of power to the accessory 400 which is started in step S103 ofthe communication preparation sequence (step S251). That is, in stepS251, the camera control section 170 controls the accessory power sourcecontrol section 33, and causes the accessory power source controlsection 33 to stop a supply of power from the camera body 100 to theaccessory 400. When it is determined in the determination process ofstep S250 that the battery is not mounted on the accessory 400 (stepS250; No), the camera control section 170 maintains a supply of power tothe accessory 400 which is started in step S103 of the communicationpreparation sequence.

The control of a supply of power to the accessory 400 is terminatedafter the camera control section 170 determines that the battery is notmounted on the accessory 400, or after the camera control section 170stops a supply of power to the accessory 400.

As stated above, when it is determined that the battery is mounted onthe accessory 400 on the basis of the battery presence or absenceinformation, the camera control section 170 determines that the powerconsumed in the accessory 400 is supplied from the battery mounted onthe accessory 400, and stops a supply of power to the accessory 400. Inaddition, when it is determined that the battery is not mounted on theaccessory 400 on the basis of the battery presence or absenceinformation, the camera control section 170 determines the powerconsumed in the accessory 400 is not supplied from the battery mountedon the accessory 400, and continues a supply of power to the accessory400. In this manner, the accessory control section 440 sends the batterypresence or absence information to the camera control section 170, asinformation indicating whether the power source is included in theaccessory 400, in other words, whether the power consumed on theaccessory 400 side is supplied from the battery mounted on the accessory400 (whether the power is supplied only to the accessory 400 sidewithout requiring a supply of power from the camera 10), further inother words, whether a supply of power consumed in the accessory 400 isrequested from the camera 10. In the present embodiment, the accessorycontrol section 440 sends the battery presence or absence information inaccordance with the request from the camera control section 170 (seestep S201).

The camera system 1 in the present embodiment is configured such thatthe camera 10 supplies power to the accessory 400, and the power sourceis not mounted on the accessory 400. For this reason, the accessorycontrol section 440 sends the battery presence or absence information(battery “absence” information), indicating that the power source is notmounted on the accessory 400, to the camera 10. The camera controlsection 170 continues a supply of power to the accessory 400 which isstarted before the battery presence or absence information is sent, onthe basis of the battery presence or absence information (see step S204)sent from the accessory control section 440. In this manner, theaccessory control section 440 in the accessory 400 which is not providedwith the power source sends the battery presence or absence information(battery “absence” information) to the camera 10, in order to supply thepower consumed in the accessory 400 from the camera 10.

Meanwhile, the accessory 400 may be supplied with the power consumed onthe accessory 400 side from other than the camera 10. For example, thereis a case where the power source (battery or the like) is mounted insidethe accessory 400, a case where an external power source for supplying apower source from the outside with respect to the accessory 400 isincluded (for example, a system in which a battery pack for supplying apower source to the accessory 400 is mounted, or a system for supplyinga household (commercial) power source through an AC adapter or the liketo the accessory 400), or the like. In such a case, for example, in thecase where the battery is mounted inside the accessory 400, theaccessory control section 440 sends the battery presence or absenceinformation (battery “presence” information), indicating an accessorysupplied with the power consumed in the accessory 400 from the powersource within the accessory, to the camera 10. The camera controlsection 170 in this case stops a supply of power to the accessory 400which is started before the battery presence or absence information(battery “presence” information) is received, on the basis of thebattery presence or absence information (battery “presence” information)(step S204) sent from the accessory control section 440 (see step S251).

Such a control of a supply of power is performed, whereby, for example,when the power source is mounted on the accessory 400 side, the camera10 can suppress the occurrence of power shortage of the camera 10 due tocontinuation of a supply of power unnecessary to be provided to theaccessory 400 side. In this manner, the camera system 1 can suppress theoccurrence of defects such as an operation stop, for example, due topower shortage of the camera 10, and thus, the camera system 1 hasgreater convenience.

Meanwhile, in the above description, the battery presence or absenceinformation is described as information indicating whether the powerconsumed in the accessory 400 is supplied from the power source mountedon the accessory 400, but the embodiment is not limited thereto. Forexample, the battery presence or absence information may be informationindicating whether the power can be received from the camera 10, inother words, information indicating whether the accessory 400 has anability to receive power from the camera 10. In this manner, even whenthe battery presence or absence information indicates any of theabove-mentioned information, the camera system 1 can reliably determinewhether the power has to be supplied from the camera 10 to the accessory400 (whether a supply of power from the camera 10 to the accessory 400has to be continued), and the accessory 400 can continue the operationthrough the supply of power. Therefore, the camera system can suppressthe occurrence of defects such as an operation stop on the accessory 400side due to the stop of a supply of power from the camera 10, andbecomes a system having greater convenience.

Next, a steady communication sequence will be described. During thesteady communication sequence, in the camera system 1, the camera 10 andthe accessory 400 mutually exchange information necessary for imagecapture. In a period for which the interrupt request is not generated asshown in FIG. 10, the steady communication sequence is repeatedlyexecuted, for example, at an interval of approximately 200 ms. In eachof the steady communication sequences repeatedly performed, the camera10 and the accessory 400 transmit and receive a plurality of informationitems in accordance with a predetermined order, similarly to theabove-mentioned communication sequence.

In addition, the camera 10 and the accessory 400, respectively, updateinformation received the previous initial communication sequence or theprevious steady communication sequence to information received in thissteady communication sequence, as necessary. In addition, when theinitial state information is updated, the camera system 1 can restartthe initial communication sequence, or update the initial stateinformation by designating items necessary to be updated. Hereinafter,an example of a process flow of the steady communication sequence willbe described.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes in the steadycommunication sequence. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a procedure ofprocesses subsequent to FIG. 15.

When the steady communication sequence is started, the camera controlsection 170 transmits a transmission notification command C10 fortransmission of the camera setting state information to the accessorycontrol section 440 (step S301). The accessory control section 440receives the transmission notification command C10, and prepares forreceiving the camera setting state information (step S302). The cameracontrol section 170 transmits up-to-date camera setting stateinformation of items designated by the transmission notification commandC10 to the accessory control section 440 (step S303). The accessorycontrol section 440 receives the up-to-date camera setting stateinformation of items designated by the transmission notification commandC10 (step S304).

The camera control section 170 determines whether the accessory 400 hasthe illumination light emitting function on the basis of the functiontype information acquired in step S204 (see FIG. 12) of the initialcommunication sequence (step S305). When it is determined in step S305that the accessory 400 has the illumination light emitting function(step S305; Yes), the camera control section 170 transmits atransmission request command C11 for requesting transmission ofillumination setting state information indicating the setting state ofthe illumination light emitting function, to the accessory controlsection 440 (step S306). After the transmission request command C11 isreceived (step S307), the accessory control section 440 transmits theillumination setting state information to the camera control section 170(step S308). The camera control section 170 receives the illuminationsetting state information (step S309).

When it is determined in step S305 that the accessory 400 does not havethe illumination light emitting function (step S305; No), or after theprocess of step S309 is terminated, the camera control section 170transmits a transmission request command C12 for requesting transmissionof the accessory setting state information to the accessory controlsection 440 (step S310). The accessory control section 440 receives thetransmission request command C12 (step S311), and transmits up-to-dateaccessory setting state information of items designated by thetransmission request command C12 to the camera control section 170 (stepS312). The camera control section 170 receives the up-to-date accessorysetting state information of items designated by the transmissionrequest command C12 (step S313).

The camera control section 170 determines whether an initializationrequest is included in the accessory setting state information acquiredin step S313 (step S314). The initialization request is informationindicating that the accessory control section 440 requests the cameracontrol section 170 to reacquire information regarding the accessory 400acquired in the initial communication sequence or the steadycommunication sequence.

When it is determined in step S314 that the initialization request isincluded in the accessory setting state information (step S314; Yes),the camera control section 170 discards the information regarding theaccessory 400 acquired in the initial communication sequence or thesteady communication sequence (step S315). After the process of stepS315 is terminated, the camera control section 170 starts the initialcommunication sequence (step S316).

When it is determined in step S314 that the initialization request isnot included in the accessory setting state information (step S314; No),the camera control section 170 determines whether profile update requestinformation is included in the accessory setting state informationreceived in step S313 (step S317). The profile update requestinformation is information indicating that the accessory control section440 requests the camera control section 170 to update profileinformation of characteristics information of the illumination lightemitting function acquired in the initial communication sequence.

When it is determined in step S317 that the profile update requestinformation is included in the accessory setting state informationreceived in step S313 (step S317; Yes), the camera control section 170transmits a transmission request command C13 for requesting transmissionof the profile information to the accessory control section 440 (stepS318). The accessory control section 440 receives the transmissionrequest command C13 (step S319), and transmits the profile informationto the camera control section 170 (step S320). The camera controlsection 170 receives the profile information (step S321), and updatesthe profile information held prior to the process of step S321 to thecharacteristics information of the illumination light emitting functionreceived in step S321.

After the process of step S321 is terminated, or when it is determinedin step S317 that the profile update request information is not includedin the accessory setting state information (step S317; No), the cameracontrol section 170 determines whether illumination profile updaterequest information is included in the accessory setting stateinformation received in step S313 (step S322). The profile updaterequest information is information indicating that the accessory controlsection 440 requests the camera control section 170 to update theillumination profile information acquired in the initial communicationsequence.

When it is determined in step S322 that the illumination profile updaterequest information is included in the accessory setting stateinformation in step S313 (step S322; Yes), the camera control section170 transmits a transmission request command C14 for requestingtransmission of the illumination profile information to the accessorycontrol section 440 (step S323). The accessory control section 440receives the transmission request command C14 (step S324), and transmitsthe illumination profile information (step S325). The camera controlsection 170 receives the illumination profile information (step S326),and updates the illumination profile information held before the processof step S321 to characteristics information of the flash light emittingfunction received in step S321.

The steady communication sequence is terminated after the camera controlsection 170 terminates the reception of the illumination profileinformation, or when the camera control section 170 determines in stepS322 that update request information regarding the flash light emittingfunction is not included in the accessory setting state information(step S322; No).

As stated above, the storage section 444 previously stores a pluralityof response information items responding in accordance with the requestinformation from the camera control section 170. For example, theaccessory control section 440 sends a plurality of response informationitems stored in the storage section 444 to the camera control section170 in an order previously set, in accordance with the requestinformation (see step S311) sent from the camera control section 170(step S312). Consequently, the camera system 1 can suppress theoccurrence of a failure or the like of communication, for example, dueto mismatching between the request information and the responseinformation, and thus the camera system has greater convenience.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, when a responseindicating that the extended function is present is included in theresponse of the accessory 400 for the initial transmission requestcommand C1 of the camera 10 and the accessory 400, the camera 10 firstrequests the characteristics information of the extended function (seestep S206) before requesting the illumination initial state information(see step S211). The accessory 400 first starts the startup of theextended function in accordance with the request procedure from thecamera 10.

It is possible to expedite the startup of the extended function throughsuch a procedure.

The camera control section 170 may be required to change the settingregarding the accessory 400 depending on the accessory setting stateinformation or the accessory initial state information updated in theabove-mentioned steady communication sequence. When the accessorycontrol section 440 is required to change the setting regarding thecamera 10 depending on the camera setting state information updated inthis steady communication sequence, the required change of the settingis completed until the next steady communication sequence. For example,the accessory control section 440 performs the setting for making any ofthe illumination light emitting function and the flash light emittingfunction effective, and performs a control for causing thelight-emitting function made effective to function.

As an example of this, a setting process for making each light-emittingfunction effective or ineffective will be described. The setting processfor making each light-emitting function effective or ineffective isperformed in accordance with an image capture mode of the camera 10. Thecamera system 1 controls the light-emitting section 425 of the accessory400 in accordance with the image capture mode of the camera 10. Theimage capture mode is set, for example, in accordance with an input froma user or the like. When there is an input (input, from a user, of thepurport to set a mode for performing the capture of a moving image)indicating that the image capture mode is set to a moving image capturemode, the accessory 400 is set to a first image capture mode for causingthe illumination light emitting function to work. In addition, when aninput (input, from a user, of the purport to set a mode for performingthe capture of one still image whenever the release button 16 is fullypressed) indicating that the image capture mode is set to a still imagecapture mode, the accessory 400 is set to a second image capture modefor causing the flash light emitting function to work. In addition, whenthere is an input from a user indicating that the image capture mode isset to an emission prohibition image capture mode (mode for capturing animage without causing the light-emitting function to work), or when thelight-emitting function is caused not to work in securing the amount ofexposure, the accessory 400 is set to a third image capture mode forcausing any of the illumination light emitting function and the flashlight emitting function not to work.

Next, a process flow of setting processes of making each light-emittingfunction effective or ineffective will be described with reference to aflow diagram of FIG. 17.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of setting processes ofeach light-emitting function effective or ineffective. A process of stepS304 of processes shown in FIG. 17 is similar to the informationreceiving process (for example, step S204D or step S237) described inthe steady communication sequence (see FIGS. 12 and 13).

In step S304, the accessory control section 440 receives theabove-mentioned “camera setting state information” including imagecapture mode information indicating which image capture mode (movingimage mode or still image mode) the camera 10 is set to. For example,when the image capture mode information included in the camera settingstate information received in step S304 of the steady communicationsequence is updated, the setting process of making each light-emittingfunction effective or ineffective is completed, for example, until thenext steady communication sequence is started.

The accessory control section 440 determines whether the image capturemode of the camera 10 is set to the first image capture mode(illumination imaging) for causing the illumination light emittingfunction to work, on the basis of the image capture mode informationincluded in the camera setting state information received in step S304of the steady communication sequence (step S330). When it is determinedthat the image capture mode of the camera 10 is set to the first imagecapture mode (step S330; Yes), the accessory control section 440 setsthe flash light emitting function to an off-state (ineffective), setsthe illumination light emitting function to an on-state (effective), andholds the set states by a flag (step S331).

Meanwhile, in the step where the flash light emitting function is set toan off-state and the illumination light emitting function is set to anon-state (effective), the accessory control section 440 sets theabove-mentioned first conduction switch to an OFF state and sets thesecond conduction switch to an ON state. In addition, in the step wherethe flash light emitting function is set to an off-state, the accessorycontrol section 440 stops a preparation process for flash emission, thatis, the main charging process to the accumulation section mentionedabove, or the monitor charging process of monitoring the amount ofcharging of the accumulation section.

Subsequently to the process in step S331, the accessory control section440 sets the first pilot lamp 455 (PL2) to turn-off, and sets the secondpilot lamp 460 (PL1) to turn-on (step S332). When the image capture modeof the camera 10 is set to the first image capture mode, the settingprocess of making each light-emitting function effective or ineffectiveis terminated after the process of step S332 is terminated.

When it is determined that the image capture mode of the camera 10 isnot set to the first image capture mode (step S330; No), the accessorycontrol section 440 determines whether the image capture mode of thecamera 10 is set to the second image capture mode (flash image capture)for causing the flash light emitting function to work, on the basis ofthe image capture mode information (step S333). When it is determinedthat the image capture mode of the camera 10 is set to the second imagecapture mode (step S333; Yes), the accessory control section 440 setsthe flash light emitting function to be effective, sets the illuminationlight emitting function to be ineffective, and holds the set states by aflag (step S334).

Meanwhile, in the step where the flash light emitting function is set tobe effective and the illumination light emitting function is set to beineffective, the accessory control section 440 sets the above-mentionedfirst conduction switch to an on-state and sets the second conductionswitch to an off-state. In addition, in the step where the flash lightemitting function is set to be effective, the accessory control section440 performs the preparation process for flash emission, that is, thecharging process to the accumulation section mentioned above.

When the preparation process (charging process) of flash emission iscompleted by the process in step S334, the accessory control section 440sets the first pilot lamp 455 to turn-on subsequently to the completion,and sets the second pilot lamp 460 to turn-off (step S335).

A user can know that the flash light emitting section 430 is in anemittable state (charging completion state) through turn-on of the firstpilot lamp 455. When the image capture mode of the camera 10 is set tothe second image capture mode, the setting process of making eachlight-emitting function effective or ineffective is terminated after theprocess of step S335 is terminated.

When it is determined that the image capture mode of the camera 10 isnot set to the first image capture mode (step S330; No) and it isdetermined that the image capture mode of the camera 10 is not set tothe second image capture mode (step S333; No), the accessory controlsection 440 determines that the image capture mode of the camera 10 isset to the third image capture mode in which the light-emitting functionis not used, and the accessory control section sets the flash lightemitting function to be ineffective, also sets the illumination lightemitting function to be ineffective, and holds the set states by a flag(step S336). Subsequently to the process of step S336, the accessorycontrol section 440 sets the first pilot lamp 455 to turn-off, and alsosets the second pilot lamp 460 to turn-off (step S337). When the imagecapture mode of the camera 10 is set to the third image capture mode,the setting process of making each light-emitting function effective orineffective is terminated after the process of step S337 is terminated.

In such a process flow, the image capture mode information indicatingthe image capture mode of the camera 10 is input to the accessorycontrol section 440 (see step S304). For example, when the selectedimage capture mode is the first image capture mode, first image capturemode information is input to the accessory control section 440. When theselected image capture mode is the second image capture mode, the secondimage capture mode information is input to the accessory control section440.

The accessory control section 440 controls the processes in theaccessory 400 in accordance with the image capture mode of the camera10. For example, the accessory control section 440 controls the emissionprocess of the flash light emitting section 430 and the emission processof the illumination light emitting section 435, in accordance with theimage capture mode. For example, when the image capture mode is set tothe first image capture mode, the accessory control section 440 sets theillumination light emitting function to be effective (see step S331),and controls the emission process of the illumination light emittingsection 435. In addition, for example, when the image capture mode isset to second image capture mode, the accessory control section 440 setsthe flash light emitting function to be effective (see step S334), andcontrols the emission process of the flash light emitting section 430.When the flash light emitting function is set to be effective, theaccessory control section 440 performs a control such as a chargingcontrol described later.

In this manner, in the camera system 1, the accessory control section440 automatically sets each light-emitting function to be effective orineffective, for example, in accordance with the image capture modeselected by a user. When the flash light emitting section 430 is set tobe ineffective with the automatic setting in the accessory 400, theemission preparation operation, such as the charging process, in theflash light emitting section 430 is also automatically stopped. Becausethe camera system can suppress useless power consumption within theaccessory 400, it has greater convenience.

Next, a charging control to the flash light emitting section 430 forworking in the flash light emitting function will be described.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes of thecharging control to the flash light emitting section 430 for working inthe flash light emitting function. When the charging control is started,the camera system 1 performs each process of the charging control in theinitial communication sequence (step S7), and next performs each processof the charging control in the steady communication sequence (step S8).After the process of step S8 is terminated, the camera system 1determines whether to perform an imaging process (interrupt process)(step S9). When the camera control section 170 determines in step S9that the imaging process is performed (step S9; Yes), the camera system1 performs each process of the image capturing sequence.

In the present embodiment, the camera system 1 performs an image captureprocess including the imaging process, the AF control, the AE control,the AWE control and the like, in the image capturing sequence. Moreover,in the image capturing sequence, the camera system 1 performs eachprocess of the charging control in the image capturing sequence togetherwith the image capture process (step S10). After the image captureprocess in the image capturing sequence and each process of the chargingcontrol are terminated, or when the camera control section 170determines in step S9 that the imaging process is not performed (stepS9; No), the process returns to step S8 and the camera system 1 performsthe charging control in the steady communication sequence once again.

As mentioned above, the steady communication sequence is repeatedlyperformed at specific intervals (for example, 200 ms) in a period oftime for which the imaging process is not performed. In addition, thesteady communication sequence subsequent to the image capturing sequenceis performed after the period of time based on the amount of time forperforming the process of the image capturing sequence that elapsesafter the steady communication sequence performed immediately before theimage capturing sequence. That is, the steady communication sequence isrepeatedly performed at regular or irregular intervals.

In each steady communication sequence, the accessory control section 440transmits the charging state information, including the charging stateinformation indicating the control state of the control for the chargingsection 432, to the camera control section 170. Since the steadycommunication sequence is repeatedly performed at regular or irregularintervals, the accessory control section 440 sends the charging stateinformation to the camera control section 170 repeatedly at regular orirregular intervals. The camera control section 170 causes the accessorycontrol section 440 to control the charging section 432, on the basis ofthe charging state information received from the accessory controlsection 440.

Since the steady communication sequence is stopped when the imagingsequence is started, the accessory control section 440 does not transmitthe charging state information to the camera control section 170 in aperiod of time for which the camera 10 performs the image captureprocess. In the imaging sequence, the camera control section 170 sends acommand for causing the accessory control section 440 to control thecharging section 432 to the accessory control section 440, even when thecamera control section does not receive the charging state informationfrom the accessory control section 440.

As stated above, in the camera system 1, the charging control for theflash light emitting section 430 is performed corresponding to eachsequence. Hereinafter, a process in each sequence of the chargingcontrols for the flash light emitting section 430 will be described foreach sequence.

First, a charging control in the initial communication sequence of thecharging controls for the flash light emitting section 430 will bedescribed. In the accessory 400 of the present embodiment, a powersource (battery) for supplying power consumed in the accessory 400 isnot mounted. In addition, the charging section 432 of the accessory 400cannot detect the amount of electric accumulation (the amount of charge)accumulated in the accumulation section except for the time of thecharging process of charging the accumulation section. That is, theaccessory 400 of the present embodiment does not hold informationindicating the amount of charging of the charging section 432 in a pointin time when the initial communication sequence is started.Consequently, in the initial communication sequence, the camera controlsection 170 transmits the camera initial state information, includingmonitor charging information indicating permission of the monitorcharging operation in the accessory 400 (charging section 432) assetting information, to the accessory control section 440, and causesthe accessory control section 440 to perform the monitor charging. Themonitor charging information is information indicating whether thecamera control section 170 permits the monitor charging operation to theaccessory control section 440. The monitor charging information ismonitor charging permission flag data in which “permission” and“prohibition” of the monitor charging are expressed by “0 (zero)” and“1”. The monitor charging information is previously stored in thestorage section 158. Hereinafter, an example of a process flow of thecharging control in the initial communication sequence will bedescribed.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes of thecharging control in the initial communication sequence. Processes ofstep S204A to step S204D of processes show in FIG. 19 are similar tothose described in the initial communication sequence (see FIG. 12). Thecamera control section 170 transmits the transmission notificationcommand C20 to the accessory control section 440 through the process ofstep S204A, and then reads out the camera initial state informationstored in the storage section 158. This camera initial state informationincludes the above-mentioned monitor charging “permission” information.Next, the camera control section 170 transmits the camera initial stateinformation read out in step S204A to the accessory control section 440through the process of step S204C.

When the camera initial state information is received through theprocess of step S204D, the accessory control section 440 causes thestorage section 444 to store the camera initial state information. Thatis, the monitor charging “permission” information supplied from thecamera body 100 is stored in the storage section 444. The accessorycontrol section 440 causes the charging section 432 to start the monitorcharging process for slightly charging the accumulation section of thecharging section 432, on the basis of the monitor charging “permission”information (step S401). The charging section 432 detects the amount ofelectric accumulation (amount of charging of the monitor) accumulated inthe charging section 432 through the monitor charging process, andcalculates the amount of charge of the accumulation section at thispoint in time on the basis of this amount of charging of the monitor.The accessory control section 440 acquires information indicating theamount of charge from the charging section 432 (step S402). Theaccessory control section 440 generates the charging state informationtransmitted to the camera control section 170 in the steadycommunication sequence subsequent to the initial communication sequence,on the basis of information acquired in step S402 indicating the amountof charge accumulated, and causes the storage section 444 to store thegenerated charging state information. The charging control in theinitial communication sequence is terminated after the accessory controlsection 440 causes the storage section 444 to store the charging stateinformation.

As stated above, before periodic communication (steady communicationsequence) with the camera control section 170 is started, the accessorycontrol section 440 acquires information indicating the amount ofcharging of the monitor. In addition, in the initial communicationsequence, the accessory control section 440 can cause the chargingsection 432 to perform the monitor charging without sending the chargingrequest to the camera control section 170. Consequently, in the initialcommunication sequence, the accessory control section 440 can preparethe charging state information transmitted to the camera control section170 in an initial steady communication sequence subsequent to theinitial communication sequence. As a result, in the initial steadycommunication sequence, the camera control section 170 receives thecharging state information from the accessory control section 440, andcan start the charging control on the basis of the received chargingstate information. Consequently, in the camera system 1 it is possibleto shorten the time to start the charging control after the accessory400 is mounted on the camera body 100. As a result, the camera system 1can shorten the time taken until image capture for causing the flashlight emitting function to work is performed, and the camera system hasgreater convenience. Additionally, in the above-mentioned example, theaccessory control section 440 performs the monitor charging inaccordance with the monitor charging “permission” information receivedfrom the camera control section 170, without sending the monitorcharging request to the camera control section 170 in the initialcommunication sequence, but the embodiment is not limited thereto. Forexample, the accessory control section 440 may transmit the monitorcharging request for requesting a command of the monitor charging to thecamera control section 170, in a period until the accessory 400 ismounted on the camera body 100 and then the initial communicationsequence is started, or in the initial communication sequence. In thiscase, the camera control section 170 may not transmit the monitorcharging “permission” information.

Next, a charging control in the steady communication sequence of thecharging controls for the flash light emitting section 430 will bedescribed.

The camera system 1 of the present embodiment determines a plurality ofitems indicating the charging state of the charging section 432 in orderof the increasing influence on the image capture process, as a firstprocess of the charging control in the steady communication sequence. Asthe first process, the camera control section 170 determines thecharging state of the charging section 432, on the basis of the chargingstate information included in the accessory setting state informationreceived from the accessory control section 440 in this steadycommunication sequence. The accessory control section 440 sends thecharging state information indicating the control state of the controlfor the charging section 432 to the camera control section 170.Meanwhile, as stated previously, the charging state information includesthe charging request information indicating whether the charging requestis present, the charging lapse information indicating whether thecharging section 432 is being charged, the chargeability informationindicating whether the charging section 432 is capable of being charged,and the emission possibility information indicating whether the flashlight emitting section 430 is in an emittable state (ready state).

In addition, as a second process of the charging control in the steadycommunication sequence, the camera system 1 of the present embodimentprioritizes a process of charging the accumulation section (chargeaccumulation section) of the charging section 432 of a plurality ofprocesses performed in the camera system 1, when the flash lightemitting section 430 is not in an emittable state (ready state).

For example, when the flash light emitting section 430 is not in a readystate, the camera control section 170 stops the operation, such as theAF control and the power zoom control, on the camera 10 (sets theoperation to an operation prohibition state), and prioritizes theprocess of charging the accumulation section (charge accumulationsection) of the charging section 432 over the AF control or the powerzoom control. When it is set to an operation prohibition state, thecamera control section 170 causes the charging section 432 to performcharging (normal charging) at a first charging rate which is previouslyset. In addition, when the flash light emitting section 430 is in aready state, the camera control section 170 causes the charging section432 to perform charging (slow charging) at a second charging rate slowerthan the first charging rate, and releases the operation prohibitionstate.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes of thecharging control in the steady communication sequence. A process of stepS313 of processes shown in FIG. 20 is a similar process to thatdescribed in the steady communication sequence (see FIG. 15). In stepS313, the camera control section 170 receives the accessory settingstate information including the charging state information. The cameracontrol section 170 determines whether the charging section 432 can becharged, on the basis of the above-mentioned chargeability informationof the charging state information acquired in step S313 (step S430).When the camera control section 170 determines in step S430 that thecharging section 432 is not capable of being charged (step S430; No),the charging control in the steady communication sequence is terminated.

When it is determined in step S430 that the charging section 432 iscapable of being charged (step S430; Yes), the camera control section170 determines whether the monitor charging request is present, on thebasis of the charging request information of the charging stateinformation acquired in step S313 (step S431). When it is determined instep S431 that the monitor charging request is present (step S431; Yes),the camera control section 170 transmits a command (monitor chargingcommand), for requesting the start of the monitor charging from theaccessory control section 440, to the accessory control section 440(step S432). The charging control in the steady communication sequenceis terminated after the process of step S432 is terminated.

When it is determined in step S431 that the monitor charging request isnot present (step S431; No), the camera control section 170 determineswhether the main charging request is present, on the basis of thecharging request information of the charging state information acquiredin step S313 (step S433). When it is determined in step S433 that themain charging request is present (step S433; Yes), the camera controlsection 170 determines whether the flash light emitting section 430 isin a ready state, on the basis of the emission possibility informationof the charging state information acquired in step S313 (step S434).

When it is determined in step S434 that the flash light emitting section430 is not in a ready state (step S434; No), the camera control section170 performs setting to an operation prohibition state in which aportion of the operations of the load section 30 is limited (prohibited)(step S435). In the present embodiment, the camera control section 170limits at least a portion of the operations of the heavy load section ofthe load section 30 in step S435. In the present embodiment, the cameracontrol section 170 limits (prohibits) the operation of the opticalsystem driving section 220 in step S435.

After the process of step S435 is terminated, the camera control section170 transmits a normal charging command, for commanding the accessorycontrol section 440 to cause the charging section 432 to start the maincharging using the normal charging, to the accessory control section 440(step S436). The normal charging command is a command for requestingthat the main charging at the first charging rate previously set isperformed. After the process of step S436 is terminated, the chargingcontrol in the steady communication sequence is terminated.

The time required for the charging section 432 to charge theaccumulation section (charge accumulation section) is longer than thetime required until the AF control is started and then focused. When theflash light emitting section 430 is not capable of emitting light (isnot in a ready state), the camera control section 170 of the presentembodiment sets a portion of the load section 30 to an operationprohibition state, and prioritizes the main charging of the chargingsection 432 over a portion of the operations of the load section 30.Consequently, in the camera control section 170, the full-pressingoperation of the release button 16 is performed in order to perform themain image capture with flash emission, and then the time required untilthe image capture with actual flash emission is possible can beshortened.

As an example, in an image capture situation requiring emission of theflash light emitting section 430, when a subject is brought into focusby completing the AF control and then the charging of the accumulationsection is started, there is a concern to miss a best shot due to themovement or the like of the subject during the charging thereof. In thepresent embodiment, in such a situation, since the operation on thecamera 10 side such as the AF control is prohibited, and the charging ofthe accumulation section of the charging section 432 is prioritized, itis possible to perform the image capture without missing the best shot.

Meanwhile, the camera control section 170 of the present embodiment setsa portion of the load section 30 to an operation prohibition state,similarly to step S435 immediately after the image capture process forcausing the flash light emitting function to work, and prioritizes themain charging of the charging section 432 over a portion of theoperations of the load section 30.

When it is determined in step S434 that the flash light emitting section430 is in a ready state (step S434; Yes), the camera control section 170releases the operation prohibition state of the load section 30 (stepS437). After the operation prohibition state of the load section 30 isreleased, the camera control section 170 transmits a slow chargingcommand, for commanding the accessory control section 440 to cause thecharging section 432 to start the main charging using the slow charging,to the accessory control section 440 (step S438). The slow chargingcommand is a command for requesting that the main charging is performedat the second charging rate slower than the first charging rate. In thepresent embodiment, the second charging rate is a fixed value previouslyset (for example, substantially half of the first charging rate). Theaccessory control section 440 designates the charging rate to the secondcharging rate, and causes the charging section 432 to charge theaccumulation section (charge accumulation section). After the process ofstep S438 is terminated, the charging control of the steadycommunication sequence is terminated.

When it is determined in step S433 that the main charging request is notpresent (step S433; No), the camera control section 170 determineswhether the charging section 432 is being charged, on the basis of thecharging lapse information of the charging state information acquired instep S313 (step S439). When the camera control section 170 determines instep S439 that the charging section 432 is not being charged (step S439;No), the charging control in the steady communication sequence isterminated.

When it is determined in step S439 that the charging section 432 isbeing charged (step S439; Yes), the camera control section 170determines whether the flash light emitting section 430 is in a readystate, on the basis of the emission possibility information of thecharging state information acquired in S313 (step S440). When the cameracontrol section 170 determines in step S440 that the flash lightemitting section 430 is not in a ready state (step S440; No), thecharging control in the steady communication sequence is terminated.

When it is determined in step S440 that the flash light emitting section430 is in a ready state (step S440; Yes), the camera control section 170transmits the slow charging command to the accessory control section 440similarly to step S437 (step S441). The camera control section 170transmits the slow charging command to the accessory control section440, and releases the operation prohibition state to the load section30, similarly to step S438 (step S442). After the process of step S442is terminated, the charging control in the steady communication sequenceis terminated.

As stated above, as the first process of the charging control in thesteady communication sequence, the camera control section 170 determinesthe charging state of the charging section 432 in accordance with theorder of a predetermined priority, on the basis of the charging stateinformation. For example, the camera control section 170 initiallydetermines whether the charging section 432 is in a chargeable state,among items indicating the charging state (see step S431). In addition,the camera control section 170 determines whether the charging section432 is in a chargeable state, and then determines whether the chargingrequest for charging the charging section 432 is present (see step S431and step S433). In addition, the camera control section 170 determineswhether the charging request for charging the charging section 432 ispresent, and then determines whether the charging section 432 is beingcharged (see step S439). In addition, the camera control section 170determines whether the charging section 432 is being charged, and thendetermines whether the amount of charging of the accumulation section(charge accumulation section) of the charging section 432 is in a state(ready state) where it reaches a predetermined amount of charging whichis previously set (see step S434). The order of priority of a pluralityof items indicating the charging state is set, for example, so that theitem having an increasing influence on the image capture process of thecamera 10 is first determined. In this manner, the camera system 1 canperform the charging control efficiently to determine the charging stateof the accessory 400 in accordance with the order of priority which ispreviously set, and therefore, the camera system has greaterconvenience.

In addition, as the second process of the charging control in the steadycommunication sequence, the camera control section 170 controls thepriority regarding the charging process performed in the accessory 400among processes of controlling the object to be controlled, on the basisof the charging state information. For example, when the amount ofcharging of the charging section 432 is less than the threshold (lessthan the emission permission level) which is previously set, the cameracontrol section 170 performs a control so as to limit (see step S435) ofthe driving of the optical system 210. That is, when the flash lightemitting section 430 is not in a ready state, the camera control section170 performs a control so that the charging process is prioritized overthe process performed by the heavy load section (for example, opticalsystem driving section 220). As stated above, the camera system 1 of thepresent embodiment does not miss a good time to take a picture even inan image capture situation requiring emission of the flash lightemitting section 430, and thus has greater convenience.

Next, processes in the image capturing sequence will be described.First, a description will be made with an emphasis on the processes inthe image capturing sequence for causing the flash light emittingfunction to work.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes in the imagecapturing sequence. When it is detected that the release button 16 isoperated by the termination of the steady communication sequence of stepS4, the camera control section 170 determines whether the image capturemode of the camera 10 is the second image capture mode (flash imagecapture) for causing the flash light emitting function to work, on thebasis of the image capture mode information (step S500). Meanwhile, whenit is detected that the release button 16 is operated during the processin the steady communication sequence of step S4, the camera controlsection 170 stops the process regarding the operation of the releasebutton 16 until the termination of the steady communication sequence ofstep S4.

When it is determined in step S500 that the image capture mode of thecamera 10 is not the second image capture mode (step S500; No), thecamera control section 170 determines whether the image capture mode ofthe camera 10 is the first image capture mode (illumination imaging) forthe illumination light emitting function to work (step S501). When it isdetermined in step S501 that the image capture mode of the camera 10 isthe first image capture mode (step S501; Yes), the camera controlsection 170 executes the image capturing sequence for causing theillumination light emitting function to work (step S11). When it isdetermined in step S501 that the image capture mode of the camera 10 isnot the first image capture mode (step S501; No), the camera controlsection 170 executes the image capturing sequence for causing both theflash light emitting function and the illumination light emittingfunction not to work (step S12).

When it is determined in step S500 that the image capture mode of thecamera 10 is the second image capture mode (step S500; Yes), the cameracontrol section 170 determines whether the flash light emitting section430 is in a ready state, on the basis of the emission possibilityinformation of the accessory setting state information received from theaccessory control section 440 in the steady communication sequence ofstep S4 (step S502). When it is determined in step S502 that the flashlight emitting section 430 is not in a ready state (step S502; No), thecamera control section 170 determines that the release button is notoperated (the operation result of the release button is released) instep S503. After the process of step S503 is terminated, the next steadycommunication sequence is started.

When it is determined in step S502 that the flash light emitting section430 is in a ready state (step S502; Yes), the camera control section 170transmits a steady communication stop notification, indicating the startof the next steady communication sequence is stopped (delayed) until thetermination of the image capturing sequence, to the accessory controlsection 440 (step S504). After it is detected that the steadycommunication stop notification transmitted in step S504 is received bythe accessory control section 440, the camera control section 170 stopsthe steady communication sequence together with the accessory controlsection 440 (step S505). After the process of step S505 is terminated,the image capturing sequence for causing the flash light emittingfunction to work is started (step S13).

After the image capturing sequence for causing the flash light emittingfunction to work is started, the camera control section 170 performs theAF control so as to focus on a subject designated by a user. Inaddition, the camera control section 170 transmits the above-mentionedmonitor charging command to the accessory control section 440 (stepS510), and causes the accessory control section 440 to start chargingthe charging section 432. The charging of the charging section 432 iscontinuously performed for a predetermined time which is previously setas mentioned above.

After the process of step S510 is terminated, the camera control section170 performs a known monitor emission (pre-emission) control in order tomeasure reflectance of the subject, depending on the setting state ofthe camera 10 (step S511). In the monitor emission control, the cameracontrol section 170 transmits a monitor emission control signal forperforming monitor emission to the accessory control section 440 throughthe synchronous signal terminal Ts4 and the synchronous signal terminalTp4. The accessory control section 440 causes the flash light emittingsection 430 to emit light in accordance with the monitor emissioncontrol signal received from the camera control section 170. The cameracontrol section 170 performs at least one of the AE control and the AWBcontrol making use of a result obtained by capturing an image (monitorimage capture) when the flash light emitting section 430 performsmonitor emission, depending on the setting state of the camera 10.Meanwhile, at least one of the monitor emission control, the AE control,and the AWB control may be omitted depending on the setting state of thecamera 10.

When operation information (full-pressing operation of the releasebutton 16) of the release button 16 to command the execution of imagecapture (main image capture) is detected, the camera control section 170performs a light emission control (main light emission control) (stepS512). The camera control section 170 transmits the emission controlsignal X, for requesting emission of the flash light emitting section430 in synchronization with the image capture timing to be set inaccordance with the timing at which the operation information(full-pressing operation) of the release button 16 is detected, to theaccessory control section 440. The emission control signal X ismaintained to an H level before execution of the light emission control,within the accessory 400, and the camera control section 170 notifiesthe accessory control section 440 of the image capture timing bychanging the emission control signal X to an L level. When it isdetected that the emission control signal X is changed to an L level,the accessory control section 440 causes the flash light emittingsection 430 to emit light, in accordance with the timing at which theemission control signal X is changed to an L level.

The camera control section 170 starts exposure of the imaging device 121in synchronization with the timing at which the flash light emittingsection 430 emits light (step S513). The camera control section 170starts exposure in step S513, and then terminates the exposure of theimaging device 121 when the exposure time set by the AE control or thelike elapses (step S514). After the process of step S514 is terminated,the camera control section 170 performs an imaging process of fetchingimage data indicating an image captured by the imaging device 121 (stepS515). The camera control section 170 stores the fetched image data in,for example, the memory 140. After the process of step S515 isterminated, the image capturing sequence for causing the flash lightemitting function to work is terminated.

After the image capturing sequence is terminated, the next steadycommunication sequence is started. As mentioned above, the accessorycontrol section 440 transmits the charging state information includingthe charging request information, the charging lapse information, thechargeability information, and the emission possibility information tothe camera control section 170 in the steady communication sequence.However, the camera system 1 stops the steady communication sequencewhile the process of the image capturing sequence is performed, and thusthe accessory control section 440 stops transmission of the chargingstate information. Consequently, the camera control section 170 sends acommand for causing the accessory control section 440 to execute thecharging control to the accessory control section 440, as necessary (seestep S510). In this manner, in the image capturing sequence, the cameracontrol section 170 can cause the accessory control section 440 toexecute the charging without receiving the charging request from theaccessory control section 440. In addition, in the image capturingsequence, the accessory control section 440 can cause the chargingsection 432 to charge the accumulation section (charge accumulationsection) by receiving a command from the camera control section 170without transmitting the charging request to the camera control section170.

Meanwhile, the processes in the image capturing sequence (step S12) ofthe third image capture mode for causing both the flash light emittingfunction and the illumination light emitting function to work include,for example, processes of step S513 to step S515. The image capturingsequence of the third image capture mode is different from the imagecapturing sequence for causing the flash light emitting function to workin that the light emission control is not performed. The processes inthe image capturing sequence of the third image capture mode are thesame as those of the image capturing sequence for causing the flashlight emitting function to work except that the light emission controlis not performed, and thus the description thereof will be omitted. Inaddition, the camera control section 170 stops the start of the steadycommunication sequence while performing the image capturing sequence ofthe third image capture mode, and starts the steady communicationsequence after the image capturing sequence of the third image capturemode is terminated.

Next, an image capturing sequence for causing the illumination lightemitting function to work will be described. When the image capture modeof the camera 10 is set to the first image capture mode (illuminationimage capture), the accessory control section 440 controls the emissionprocess of the illumination light emitting section 435. The first imagecapture mode is, for example, any of the image capture mode forperforming multiple still image capture processes in a predeterminedtime previously set, and the image capture mode for performing a movingimage capture process continued for a predetermined time previously set.

As a first process in the image capturing sequence for causing theillumination light emitting function to work, the accessory 400 turns onthe illumination light emitting section 435 when focusing completioninformation is received from the camera 10. The AE control or the AWBcontrol is performed in a state where the illumination light emittingsection 435 is turned on.

In addition, as a second process in the image capturing sequence forcausing the illumination light emitting function to work, the camerabody 100 extends the turn-on time in excess of the longest turn-on time,when the release button 16 is fully pressed just before the terminationof the longest turn-on time. The longest turn-on time is, for example,the time which is set in advance, as an upper limit of the allowablerange of the continuous turn-on time. As the initial conditions of thesecond process, the camera body 100 receives characteristics informationof the illumination light emitting function from the accessory controlsection 440, in the above-mentioned steady communication sequence (see,for example, step S309 of FIG. 15) performed before the image capturingsequence of the first image capture mode for causing the illuminationlight emitting function to work is started (before the execution of theflow diagram of FIG. 22 is started). The characteristics information ofthe illumination light emitting function includes information indicatingthe longest turn-on time (information indicating the period (time) forwhich the illumination light emitting section 435 is capable of beingcontinuously turned on).

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes in the imagecapturing sequence for causing the illumination light emitting functionto work. When the image capturing sequence of the first image capturemode for causing the illumination light emitting function to work isstarted, and then the operation (full pressing) of the release button 16indicating the start of preparation of image capture is detected (stepS601), the camera control section 170 starts the AF control (step S602).After the focusing state is detected by an AF sensor and the AF controlis terminated (step S603), the camera control section 170 transmitsfocusing completion information (focusing state information), indicatingthe completion (reaching the focusing state) of a focusing operation fora desired subject, to the accessory control section 440 (step S604).After the focusing state information is received (step S605), theaccessory control section 440 causes the illumination light emittingsection 435 to start turn-on (step S606). In a point in time when theimage capturing sequence starts, the time (normal turn-on time) at whichthe accessory control section 440 turns on the illumination lightemitting section 435 is set to be shorter than the longest turn-on timeof the illumination light emitting section 435 by a predetermined timepreviously set.

After the process of step S604 is terminated, the camera control section170 starts the AE control and the AWB control (step S607), and performsthe AE control and the AWB control in a state where the illuminationlight emitting section 435 illuminates a subject. The camera controlsection 170 completes the AE control and the AWB control (step S608),and detects the operation (full pressing) of the release button 16indicating a request of image capture (step S609). After the process ofstep S609 is terminated, the camera control section 170 determineswhether the image capture can be completed within the longest turn-ontime (step S610).

In step S610, the camera control section 170 determines whether theimage capture can be completed within the normal turn-on time, on thebasis of the timing at which the focusing completion (state) informationis transmitted (step S604), the normal turn-on time, and the timing(image capture start time) at which the operation (full pressing) of therelease button 16 is detected in step S609. The camera control section170, for example, seeks the turn-on time remaining in the illuminationlight emitting section 435 in a point in time when the operation (fullpressing) of the release button 16 is detected, and determines whetherthe image capture can be completed within the normal turn-on time bycomparing the sought turn-on time with the time required to complete theimage capture.

When it is determined that the image capture can be completed within thenormal turn-on time (step S610; Yes), the camera control section 170starts exposure of the imaging device 121 (step S615).

When it is determined that the image capture cannot be completed withinthe normal turn-on time (step S610; No), the camera control section 170extends the turn-on time from the normal turn-on time to the time equalto or less than the longest turn-on time, and further determines whetherthe image capture can be completed (step S611). When camera controlsection 170 determines in step S611 that the image capture cannot becompleted within the time extended further than the normal turn-on time(step S611; No), the image capturing sequence is terminated. When it isdetermined in step S611 that the image capture can be completed withinthe time extended further than the normal turn-on time (step S611; Yes),the camera control section 170 transmits extension informationindicating an extension of the turn-on time to the accessory controlsection 440 (step S612). The accessory control section 440 receives theextension information (step S613). After the process of step S612 isterminated, the camera control section 170 starts exposure of theimaging device 121 (step S615).

The camera control section 170 starts the exposure in step S615, andthen terminates the exposure of the imaging device 121 when the exposuretime set by the AE control elapses (step S616). After the process ofstep S616 is terminated, the camera control section 170 generates imagedata of an image captured by the imaging device 121, and fetches andstores the generated image data in the memory 140 or the like (stepS617). After the process of step S617 is terminated, the camera controlsection 170 transmits exposure termination information indicating atermination of the exposure to the accessory control section 440 (stepS618).

After turn-on of the illumination light emitting section 435 is startedin step S606, the accessory control section 440 determines whether theextension information is received from the camera control section 170(step S613). When it is determined in step S613 that the extensioninformation is received from the camera control section 170 (step S613;Yes), the accessory control section 440 sets the extension conditions ofthe illumination light emitting section 435 so that the turn-on time ofthe illumination light emitting section 435 exceeds the normal turn-ontime to continue turn-on of the illumination light emitting section 435.

When it is determined in step S613 that the extension information is notreceived from the camera control section 170 (step S613; No), theaccessory control section 440 maintains the illumination light emittingsection 435 in a turn-on state without changing the turn-on time of theillumination light emitting section 435. The accessory control section440 receives the exposure termination information from the cameracontrol section 170 (step S619), and then turns off the illuminationlight emitting section 435 (step S620).

The accessory control section 440 turns off the illumination lightemitting section 435, when the turn-on time of the illumination lightemitting section 435 is equal to the longest turn-on time in a statewhere the extension information is not received from the camera controlsection 170. After the process of step S618 and the process of step S620are terminated, the image capturing sequence using the illuminationlight emitting function is terminated.

In the first process performed in the procedure as mentioned above, whenthe camera control section 170 detects the focusing state, the accessorycontrol section 440 turns on the illumination light emitting section 435by the control of the camera control section 170 (step S606). Forexample, the accessory control section 440 turns on the illuminationlight emitting section 435 in accordance with the focusing completioninformation (step S605) received from the camera control section 170(step S606). The focusing completion information is informationindicating the focusing state.

In addition, in a state where a subject is illuminated by theillumination light emitting section 435, the camera control section 170starts at least one of the AE control for adjusting the amount ofexposure and the AWB control for adjusting the color tone (step S608).The AE control and the AWB control are performed on the basis ofinformation indicating the emission characteristics of the illuminationlight emitting section 435. Consequently, the camera system 1 can imagea subject in a state where the influence of light with which a subjectis irradiated from the illumination light emitting section 435 on theamount of exposure (brightness) or the influence thereof on the colortone (shade) is added. The camera system 1 is configured such that itstarts (the emission start timing is delayed further than the AF starttiming) the turn-on of the illumination light emitting section 435 afterthe accessory control section 440 receives the focusing completioninformation. Therefore, it is possible to lengthen the period for whichillumination light can be emitted (turned on) in parallel with the mainimage capture operation during the main image capture period, ascompared to a case where illumination light is emitted at the AF starttiming (point in time of the half pressing operation). For this reason,it is possible to reduce a risk that the latter half of the imagecapture in the image capture period falls into a shortage of the amountof light illuminated (underexposure) due to the termination of turn-onof the illumination light emitting section 435 before the completion ofthe image capture operation. In this manner, the camera system 1 hasgreater convenience.

In addition, in the second process performed in the procedure asmentioned above, the camera control section 170 performs a control so asto make the turn-on time of the illumination light emitting section 435longer than the normal turn-on time in accordance with the image capturestart time. The longest turn-on time is previously set, for example, inaccordance with the amount of heat generation of the illumination lightsource 437. The normal turn-on time is previously set in accordance withthe longest turn-on time. The longest turn-on time is previously set,for example, in accordance with the amount of heat generation of theillumination light source 437. The accessory control section 440 turnson the illumination light emitting section 435 in the normal turn-ontime previously set. The accessory control section 440 performs acontrol so as to make the turn-on time of the illumination lightemitting section 435 long than the normal turn-on time in accordancewith the image capture start time. Hereinafter, the second process willbe described by way of a numerical example.

FIGS. 23A and 23B are diagrams illustrating a timing of executing eachprocess of a control for extending the turn-on time. FIG. 23A shows atiming of executing each process in a case where the image capture iscompleted within the normal turn-on time. FIG. 23B shows a timing ofexecuting each process in a case where the image capture is completed byextending the turn-on time within the longest turn-on time. In FIGS. 23Aand 23B, sign Tn denotes the time when the normal turn-on time (forexample, 6 seconds) elapses from the image capture start time, and signTm denotes the time when the longest turn-on time (for example, 8seconds) elapses from the image capture start time. The time (imagecapture time) for which the image capture is performed is the time fromthe start (step S615) of exposure to the termination (step S616) ofexposure, and is the time (for example, 2 seconds) previously set.

The camera system 1 of the present embodiment captures a multiple-frameimage during the image capture time. In addition, the camera system 1 ofthe present embodiment performs pre-capture prior to a desired periodfor which an image capture process (shown by “image capture” in FIGS.23A and 23B) is performed. The pre-capture is a process of startingfetching of an image before the release button 16 is fully pressed.Herein, the camera system 1 is configured such that when full pressingof the release button 16 is detected, the image capture is startedbefore the time at which full pressing of the release button 16 isdetected. That is, in the camera system 1, an image fetched in apredetermined time continuing before the time at which full pressing ofthe release button 16 is detected, and an image fetched in apredetermined time continuing after the time at which full pressing ofthe release button 16 is detected are set to images captured in theimaging process.

First, an example in which the image capture process is completedwithout extending the turn-on time will be explained. As shown in FIG.23A, at time t10, the camera 10 starts the AF control in accordance withthe time at which half pressing of the release button 16 is detected.Moreover, at time t11, which is after time t10, the camera 10 turns onthe illumination light emitting section 435 of the accessory 400 inaccordance with the time at which the AF control is completed.Furthermore, at time t11, the camera 10 starts at least one of the AEcontrol and the AWB control, and performs at least one of the AE controland the AWB control, for example, in a state where a subject isilluminated by the illumination light emitting section 435.

At time t12, which is after time t11, the camera 10 starts pre-capturein accordance with the time at which the AE control and the AWB controlare completed. At time t13, which is after time t12, the camera 10starts the image capture process. As mentioned above, the camera 10starts the image capture before the time at which full pressing of therelease button 16 is detected. That is, the time at which full pressingof the release button 16 detected by the camera 10 is any of the timebetween time t13 at which the image capture process is started and timet14 at which the image capture process is terminated. In the presentexample, the image capture start time t13 is set to, for example, thetime when 3 seconds elapsed from the turn-on start time (t11). In thiscase, when the image capture time is set to 2 seconds, the image capturetime is terminated at time t14 (second time) when 5 seconds elapsed fromthe turn-on start time. In this case, the image capture process isterminated from turn-on start time t10 to time Tn (first time) when thenormal turn-on time (6 seconds) elapsed. In such a case, at time t14,the camera 10 terminates the image capture process and turns off theillumination light emitting section 435.

Next, an example in which the image capture process is completed byextending the normal turn-on time will be explained. As shown in FIG.23B, at time t20, the camera 10 starts the AF control in accordance withthe time when half pressing of the release button 16 is detected. Inaddition, at time t21, which is after time t20, the camera 10 turns onthe illumination light emitting section 435 of the accessory 400 inaccordance with the time when the AF control is completed. In addition,at time t21, the camera 10 starts at least one of the AE control and theAWB control, and performs at least one of the AE control and the AWBcontrol, for example, in a state where a subject is illuminated by theillumination light emitting section 435. In addition, at time t22 whichis after time t21, the camera 10 starts pre-capture in accordance withthe time when the AE control and the AWB control are completed.

In the camera 10 of the present embodiment, the time from image capturestart time t23 to the time when full pressing of the release button 16is detected, and the time from the time when full pressing of therelease button 16 is detected to image capture ending time t24 when theimage capture process is completed are previously set. In the presentexample, image capture start time t23 is set to, for example, the timewhen 5 seconds elapsed from the turn-on start time (t21). In this case,when the image capture time is set to 2 seconds, the image capture timeis terminated at time t24 (second time) when 7 seconds elapsed from theturn-on start time. In this case, the image capture process cannot becompleted from turn-on start time t20 to time Tn (first time) when thenormal turn-on time (6 seconds) elapsed, but can be completed fromturn-on start time t20 to time Tm when the longest turn-on time (8seconds) elapsed. In such a case, in the camera 10, the image captureprocess is completed by extending the turn-on time of the illuminationlight emitting section 435. Thus, the camera system 1 extends theturn-on time in accordance with the image capture start time, and thushas greater convenience.

Next, a termination process of terminating the process in the accessory400 will be described. In the control (see FIG. 14) for supplying power,the camera 10 starts a supply of power to the accessory 400 (see stepS103). In addition, when it is determined that power consumed in theaccessory 400 is not supplied from a power source mounted on theaccessory 400 (see step S250), the camera 10 continues a supply of powerto the accessory 400. The accessory 400 of the present embodimentoutputs the signal (startup detection level DET), indicating atermination of the process performed by the accessory 400, to the camera10. The startup detection level DET shown in FIG. 9B is maintained to anL level, when the first switch section 465 is closed, and the secondswitch section 470 is closed. The startup detection level DET is changedto an H level, when at least one of the first switch section 465 and thesecond switch section 470 is cut off. For example, in the accessory 400,when a user detaches the accessory 400 from the camera 10, and operatesthe first operating portion 424 (see FIGS. 2 and 9A) so as to releasefixation of the accessory 400 to the camera 10, the first switch section465 opens a circuit. Consequently, the startup detection level DET ischanged to an H level. In addition, the accessory 400 is configured suchthat when a user performs the function off operation on the secondoperating portion 471 (see FIGS. 2 and 9B) of the second switch section470, the second switch section 470 opens a circuit. Consequently, thestartup detection level DET is also changed to an H level. The accessorycontrol section 440 of the accessory 400 provides to the camera 10 thestartup detection level DET (H level) indicating that the process of theaccessory 400 is terminated, and then starts the termination process.Hereinafter, an example of a process flow of the termination processwill be described.

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of processes ofterminating the process in the accessory 400. The camera control section170 continuously detects the potential of the startup state detectingterminal Tp7, and repeatedly performs a determination process ofdetermining whether the startup detection level DET is an L level at apredetermined timing (predetermined period). That is, the camera controlsection 170 executes the determination process of determining whetherthe startup detection level DET is an L level (step S702). Moreover,when it is determined in step S702 that the startup detection level DETis an L level (step S702; Yes), the camera control section 170determines that the accessory 400 is mounted on the camera 10, and theprocess returns to the determination process of step S702.

When it is determined in step S702 that the startup detection level DETis not an L level (step S702; No), the camera control section 170transmits power supply stop information, indicating that a supply ofpower from the camera 10 to the accessory 400 is stopped, to theaccessory control section 440 (step S703). At the timing after the powersupply stop information is transmitted to the accessory control section440 (step S703) and a predetermined power supply period previously setelapses from a point in time of transmission of the power supply stopinformation, the camera control section 170 controls the accessory powersource control section 33, and stops a supply of power from the camera10 to the accessory 400 (step S704). That is, in the accessory controlsection 440, the startup detection level DET is provided to the cameracontrol section 170 or the power supply stop information is receivedfrom the camera, and a supply of power from the camera 10 is maintainedfor a while (for the above-mentioned predetermined power supply period),without cutting off a supply of power from the camera 10.

The accessory control section 440 performs the termination processdescribed later, in a short period of time (in the above-mentionedpredetermined power supply period) before a supply of power from thecamera 10 to the accessory 400 is stopped. When the power supply stopinformation is received from the camera 10 (step S705), the accessorycontrol section 440 starts the termination process for terminating theprocess of the accessory 400 (step S706). This termination process is aprocess for storing (preserving), in the nonvolatile memory 445 (storagesection 444), information (for example, emission history informationsuch as the number of emissions, accessory setting state informationsuch as a set emission mode, or the like), temporarily stored in thestorage section 444 within the accessory 400, indicating various typesof states of the accessory 400 at that point in time. The accessorycontrol section 440 terminates the process after step S706 (step S707).

In this manner, for example, when a user attempts to detach theaccessory 400 from the camera 10, the camera system 1 performs theprocess (termination process mentioned above) necessary to terminate theprocess of the accessory 400. Therefore, the camera system can preservethe setting or the history of the accessory 400, and thus has greaterconvenience.

Additionally, the technical scope of the invention is not limited to theabove-mentioned embodiment. At least one of the constituent elementsdescribed in the above-mentioned embodiment may be omitted. Each of theconstituent elements described in the above-mentioned embodiment may beappropriately combined. In the above-mentioned embodiment, the accessoryincludes an accessory (that is, a flash device) having a flash lightemitting function, an accessory (that is, an illuminating device) havingan illumination light emitting function, an accessory (that is, apositioning device) having a GPS function, and a device (that is, acommander device) having a multi-turn-on commander function, but may bean accessory other than the above. For example, when the open terminalsTp10 and Ts10 are caused to function as terminals for transferring imagedata from the camera to the accessory, the above-mentioned accessory canalso be used as an accessory (that is, an EVF) having an electronicviewfinder function, or an accessory (wireless transmitter) having atransmitter function for transmitting image data or the like to anexternal server or the like. In addition, when the open terminals Tp10and Ts10 are caused to function as terminals for transferring audio datafrom the accessory to the camera, the above-mentioned accessory can alsobe used as an accessory (that is, a microphone) having a microphonefunction.

Additionally, as described with reference to FIG. 14, when it isdetermined that the battery is mounted on the accessory 400 (stepS250:Yes), the camera control section 170 stops the supply of power tothe accessory 400 (step S251), but the embodiment is not limitedthereto. For example, the camera control section 170 may perform acontrol for stopping or suppressing the supply of power from the camera10 (camera body 100) to the accessory 400, based on predeterminedconditions other than that the battery being mounted on the accessory400. The camera control section 170 stops or limits the supply of powerto the accessory 400, thereby allowing at least a portion of theoperation of the accessory 400 to be prohibited or limited when theaccessory 400 performs an operation (called an unexpected operation)other than an operation previously expected on the camera 10 (camerabody 100). Hereinafter, such a modified example will be described.

Modified Example 1

First, Modified Example 1 will be described. FIG. 25 is a diagramillustrating a procedure of processes in an initial communicationsequence of Modified Example 1. A series of processes in ModifiedExample 1 is different from a series of processes described withreference to FIG. 12, in that after the process of step S204, it isdetermined in step S260 whether information is received normally fromthe accessory control section 440.

In Modified Example 1, subsequently to the reception of the accessoryinitial state information from the accessory control section 440, forexample, in step S204, the camera control section 170 determines whetherinformation is received normally from the accessory control section 440(step S260).

Explaining for more details, in step S260, when the accessory initialstate information received in step S204 includes information (forexample, battery presence or absence information and function typeinformation) of items designated by the transmission request command C1of step S201 in just proportion, the camera control section 170determines that the information is received normally (step S260:Yes).The camera control section 170 then performs the processes after stepS204A, similarly to those described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13.

In addition, when the accessory initial state information cannot bereceived from the accessory control section 440 in step S204, and theaccessory initial state information received in step S204 does notinclude information of at least one item of items designated by thetransmission request command C1 of step S201, the camera control section170 determines that the information is not received normally in stepS260 (step S260: No). The camera control section 170 then performs aprocess of stopping the supply of power to the accessory 400 (stepS261). In this case, the camera control section 170 terminates, forexample, the initial communication sequence. In addition, as describedwith reference to FIG. 24, the camera control section 170 notifies theaccessory 400 that the supply of power is stopped (step S703), and thencontrols the accessory power source control section 33 (see FIG. 7) andstops the supply of power (step S704).

In the processes shown in Modified Example 1, when informationpreviously expected cannot be received from the accessory 400 in theinitial communication sequence, the camera control section 170 candetect that the accessory 400 performs an unexpected operation. Sincethe camera control section 170 stops the supply of power from the camera10 to the accessory 400 based on this detection result, the occurrenceof malfunction or the like in the unpredictable accessory 400 can besuppressed beforehand.

However, the number of bytes (first number of bytes) of information tobe transmitted by the accessory control section 440 is determined inaccordance with contents of the request from the camera control section170. Consequently, the camera control section 170 may perform thedetermination of step S260 based on the number of bytes (second numberof bytes) of information received from the accessory control section440. For example, the camera control section 170 may determine that theinformation is received normally when the second number of bytes is thesame as the first number of bytes, and may determine that theinformation is not received normally when the second number of bytes isdifferent from the first number of bytes.

In addition, the camera control section 170 can also perform thedetermination of step S260 based on contents of information receivedfrom the accessory control section 440. For example, the camera controlsection 170 may determine that the information is not received normallyin at least one of a case where the information received by the cameracontrol section 170 in step S204 does not include information of itemsdesignated by the transmission request command C1, a case where theinformation is different from a format which is set in advance, and acase where the information includes information other than itemsdesignated by the transmission request command C1. For example, in stepS204, the camera control section 170 may determine that the informationis not received normally when it is expected that the battery presenceor absence information and the function type information are receivedand the battery “presence” information and the battery “absence”information are not all received, when at least a portion of thefunction type information is not received, or the like.

Additionally, in Modified Example 1 shown in FIG. 25, the camera controlsection 170 determines whether the information is received normally(step S204) with respect to the accessory initial state information tobe received, but the camera control section 170 may also determinewhether the information is received normally with respect to informationother than the accessory initial state information. For example, in eachprocess of steps S209 and S214 shown in FIG. 12, and each process ofsteps S220, S224, S229, S233, and step S241 shown in FIG. 13, the cameracontrol section 170 receives information from the accessory 400.Whenever each information item is received in each of the processes ofreceiving the information, the camera control section 170 may determinewhether the information is received normally.

In addition, when at least one piece of information requested by thecamera control section 170 out of the characteristic information of theextended function, the initial state information of the illuminationlight emitting function, the settable information, the profileinformation, the illumination profile information, and the accessorysetting state information cannot be received from the accessory controlsection 440, the camera control section 170 may determine that theaccessory 400 is in a state where it performs an operation (malfunction)other than an expected operation.

Here, the characteristic information of the extended function is, forexample, information indicating the characteristics of the extendedfunction such as the GPS function or the multi-turn-on commanderfunction. When it is determined in step S205 that the accessory 400 hasthe extended function, the characteristic information of the extendedfunction is information received by the camera control section 170 instep S209.

The initial state information of the illumination light emittingfunction is information indicating the initial state before thecharacteristics of the illumination light emitting function are changedand set. When it is determined in step S210 that the accessory 400 hasthe illumination light emitting function, the initial state informationof the illumination light emitting function is information received bythe camera control section 170 in step S214.

The settable information is information indicating a function capable ofsetting the characteristics in the functions of the accessory 400. Thesettable information is information received by the camera controlsection 170 in step S220.

The profile information is information indicating a profile(characteristics of the flash light emitting function) of the accessory400. The profile information is information received by the cameracontrol section 170 in step S224.

The illumination profile information is information indicating theemission characteristics of the illumination light emitting section 435.When it is determined in step S225 that the accessory 400 has theillumination light emitting function, the illumination profileinformation is information received by the camera control section 170 instep S229.

The accessory setting state information is information including settinginformation indicating the setting state of the flash light emittingfunction, setting information indicating the setting state of theillumination light emitting function, charging state informationindicating the control state of the control for the charging section432, and the like. The accessory setting state information isinformation received by the camera control section 170 in step S233 andstep S241.

When it is determined that at least one of these pieces of informationis not received normally, the camera control section 170 may stop thesupply of power to the accessory 400 similarly to step S261. Inaddition, when it is not determined that the information is not receivednormally, the camera control section 170 determines that the informationis received normally, and may perform the subsequent process the same asthat of the above-mentioned embodiment. Additionally, the camera controlsection 170 may determine whether the information of one or more itemsselected from various types of information items mentioned above isreceived normally.

Modified Example 2

Next, Modified Example 2 will be described. FIG. 26 is a diagramillustrating a procedure of processes in a power supply control ofModified Example 2. A series of processes in Modified Example 2 isdifferent from a series of processes described with reference to FIG.14, in that after the process of step S250, it is determined in stepS262 whether the information is received normally from the accessorycontrol section 440.

In Modified Example 2, when it is determined in step S250 that theaccessory 400 does not have a battery (step S250: NO), the cameracontrol section 170 determines whether the battery “absence” informationis received normally in step S262. In step S262, the camera controlsection 170 determines that the information is received normally (stepS262:Yes) when the battery “absence” information is received in stepS204, and continues the supply of power to the accessory 400 started instep S103. In addition, in step S262, the camera control section 170determines that the information is not received normally (step S262: No)when the battery “absence” information is not received in step S204 orwhen information different from a format which is set in advance isreceived, and stops, in step S251, the supply of power started in stepS103.

In this manner, the camera control section 170 can detect that theaccessory 400 performs an unexpected operation. Since the camera controlsection 170 stops the supply of power to the accessory 400 based on thisdetection result, the occurrence of malfunction or the like of theaccessory 400 can be suppressed. Additionally, the determination of stepS262 can be performed prior to the determination of step S250.

Modified Example 3

Next, Modified Example 3 will be described. FIG. 27 is a diagramillustrating a procedure of processes of a charging control in ModifiedExample 3. A series of processes in Modified Example 3 is different froma series of processes described with reference to FIG. 20, in that afterthe process of step S430, it is determined in step S263 whether theinformation is received normally from the accessory control section 440.

In Modified Example 3, the determination process of step S263 isexecuted in each of the cases where it is determined in step S430 thatthe charging section 432 is not capable of being charged based on thechargeability information (step S430: No), it is determined in step S431that the monitor charging request is not present based on the chargingrequest information (step S431: No), it is determined in step S439 thatthe charging section 432 is not being charged based on the charginglapse information (step S439: No), and it is determined in step S440that the flash light emitting section 430 is not in a ready state basedon the emission possibility information (step S440: No).

In step S263, the camera control section 170 determines whether thefollowing information is received normally: the chargeabilityinformation, the charging request information, the charging lapseinformation, and the emission possibility information which are includedin the charging state information out of the accessory setting stateinformation received in step S313.

In Modified Example 3, the camera control section 170 determines whethercorrect information is received (whether the accessory is operatingnormally) based on consistency of contents indicated by each of thechargeability information, the charging request information, thecharging lapse information, and the emission possibility information. Asan example, in a case where the amount of charging of the chargingsection 432 is less than the emission permission level mentioned above,it is expected that if it is in a normal state, the emission possibilityinformation indicates that the flash light emitting section 430 is notin a ready state and the charging request information indicates that themain charging request is performed. However, in such a case, when themain charging request is not performed in the charging requestinformation regardless of the emission possibility informationindicating that the flash light emitting section is not in a readystate, the camera control section 170 determines that correctinformation is not received (the accessory 400 performs an unexpectedoperation) (step S263:No), and stops the supply of power to theaccessory 400 in step S264. In addition, when it is determined in stepS263 that contents indicated by each of the chargeability information,the charging request information, the charging lapse information, andthe emission possibility information have consistency (step S263: Yes),the camera control section 170 terminates the charging control in thesteady communication sequence.

In this manner, the camera control section 170 can detect whether or notthe accessory 400 has performed an unexpected operation by determiningif multiple pieces of information received from the accessory controlsection 440 are consistent with each other. Since the camera controlsection 170 stops the supply of power to the accessory 400 based on thisdetection result, the occurrence of malfunction or the like on theaccessory 400 can be suppressed beforehand.

Additionally, similarly to the way that the determination of whether theinformation is received normally is described in Modified Example 1, thecamera control section 170 may perform each of the chargeabilityinformation, the charging request information, the charging lapseinformation, and the emission possibility information based on one orboth of the number of bytes and the contents. In addition, wheninformation indicating the amount of charging (charging rate) of thecharging section 432 is supplied from the accessory control section 440to the camera control section 170, the camera control section 170 maydetect that the accessory 400 performs an unexpected operation, bydetermining consistency with the charging rate (charging amount) of thecharging section 432 with respect to at least one of the chargeabilityinformation, the charging request information, the charging lapseinformation, and the emission possibility information. For example, whenthe chargeability information indicates that the flash light emittingsection is not in a ready state regardless of the charging rate(charging amount) of the charging section 432 being the emissionpermission level or more (ready state), the camera control section 170may determine that correct information is not received. For example, inthe steady communication sequence (for example, step S313 of FIG. 15),the accessory control section 440 transmits the charging rateinformation, indicating the charging rate of the charging section 432 asa portion of the accessory setting state information, to the cameracontrol section 170. After the determination process (for example, stepS440 and step S434) of whether or not the flash light emitting sectionis in a ready state, the camera control section 170 may determineconsistency between the emission possibility information and thecharging rate information.

Modified Example 4

Next, Modified Example 4 will be described. Modified Example 4 is amodified example regarding the processes of the charging controlsimilarly to Modified Example 3, and a procedure of processes is thesame as that of Modified Example 3 shown in FIG. 27. In Modified Example4, it is determined whether the accessory 400 performs an unexpectedoperation by determining consistency between the information indicatingpower supplied from the camera 10 to the accessory 400 and the chargingstate information, instead of evaluating (determining) consistency ofthe charging state information based on the chargeability informationand the charging request information.

Explaining for more detail, in Modified Example 4, the accessory powersource control section 33 within the camera 10 shown in FIG. 7 detectspower (for example, current value) supplied from the camera 10 to theaccessory 400, and supplies information indicating the detected power(hereinafter, referred to as supply power detection information) to thecamera control section 170. When the operation state (charging state) ofthe accessory 400 indicated by the charging state information receivedfrom the accessory control section 440 and the amount of power suppliedindicated by the supply power detection information are not consistentwith each other, the camera control section 170 determines that theaccessory 400 has performed an unexpected operation. For example, whenpower to be supplied to the accessory 400, though the charging section432 is not being charged, is larger than a predetermined amount (normalpower necessary for the accessory control section 440 on the accessory400 side to perform a normal operation (an operation for charging is notincluded)), the camera control section 170 determines that the accessory400 has performed an unexpected operation. Specifically, when thecharging request information of the charging state information indicatesthat “the charging request is not performed”, and the amount of powersupplied indicated by the supply power detection information exceeds theallowable range of the amount of power supplied in the case where thecharging section is not being charged, the camera control section 170determines that the accessory 400 has performed an unexpected operation.When it is determined that the accessory 400 has performed an unexpectedoperation, the camera control section 170 stops the supply of power tothe accessory 400 as described in Modified Example 1.

In this manner, the camera control section 170 detects that theaccessory 400 performs an unexpected operation by determining theconsistency between the information received from the accessory controlsection 440 and the supply power detection information. Since the cameracontrol section 170 stops the supply of power to the accessory 400 basedon this detection result, the occurrence of malfunction or the like onthe accessory 400 can be suppressed beforehand.

Additionally, in Modified Examples 1 to 4 mentioned above, when it isdetermined that the accessory 400 has performed an unexpected operation,the camera control section 170 stops the supply of power to theaccessory 400, but may limit (reduce) an upper limit value of powersupplied to the accessory 400 to a value which is set in advance, andmay prohibit at least a portion of the functions of the accessory 400.For example, when the illumination light emitting function is notincluded in a function indicated by the function type informationreceived from the accessory 400 in the initial communication sequencedescribed with reference to FIG. 12, the camera control section 170 doesnot transmit a command regarding the illumination light emittingfunction to the accessory 400, and thereby the camera control sectionmay make the illumination light emitting function ineffective.

Additionally, when information of items requested from the accessorycontrol section 440 cannot be received, the camera control section 170requests (retries) transmission of the information again from theaccessory control section 440, and when the information of the requesteditems cannot be received, the camera control section may limit or stopthe supply of power to the accessory 400, or may limit at least aportion of the functions of the accessory 400. The number of retries maybe one or more as predetermined.

Additionally, when it is determined that the accessory 400 performs anoperation other than an expected operation, the camera control section170 may give notice of, for example, the operation (malfunction)accessory 400. In addition, when the camera control section 170 limitsor stops the supply of power to the accessory 400, or limits at least aportion of the functions of the accessory 400, the camera controlsection may give notice of performing the limit or stop. Theabove-mentioned notice can be given, for example, by displaying one orboth of a character and an image on the display section 102 shown inFIG. 2.

Additionally, the technical scope of the invention is not limited to theabove-mentioned embodiment. At least one of the constituent elementsdescribed in the above-mentioned embodiment may be omitted. Theconstituent elements described in the above-mentioned embodiment may beappropriately combined. For example, in the accessory 400, the startupstate providing terminal Ts7 may be connected to the reference potentialline 480 through the MSW 465 and the PCSW 470 such as the startup stateproviding terminal is connected to the grounding line 42 through thereference potential line 480 in a state where the accessory 400 ismounted to the camera 10.

In addition, the camera body 100 and the accessory 400 have the computersystem therein. The sequences of the operations of the function sectionsare stored in a program form in a computer-readable recording medium andthe processes are performed by causing a computer system to read out andexecute the program. The term “computer system” herein includes a CPU,various types of memory or OS, and hardware such as peripheral devices.

In addition, the “computer system” also includes a homepage providingenvironment (or a display environment) when the WWW system is used. Inaddition, examples of the “computer-readable recording medium” includeportable mediums such as a flexible disk, a magnetooptic disc, a ROM,and a CD-ROM and a storage device such as a hard disk built in thecomputer system. Furthermore, examples of the “computer-readablerecording medium” include mediums dynamically storing a program in ashort period of time like networks such as the Internet or communicationlines when transmitting a program via communication lines such astelephone lines and mediums storing a program in a given period of timesuch as a volatile memory in a computer system serving as a server or aclient in that case. The program may realize some of the above-mentionedfunctions or the above-mentioned functions may be realized through acombination with the program previously recorded in the computer system.

Second Embodiment

The present embodiment will be described below. In the followingdescription, the same components are assigned the same referencenumerals and signs, and description thereof may be simplified oromitted.

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of a camera system 2according to the present embodiment. FIG. 29 is a diagram illustratingthe camera system 2 according to the present embodiment when viewed fromthe side opposite to that in FIG. 28.

The camera system 2 shown in FIGS. 28 and 29 includes a camera 10(camera body 100 and image capture lens 200) and an accessory 401. Theaccessory 401 according to the present embodiment has a generally samecomponents as the accessory 400 shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and the like.In the accessory 401 according to the present embodiment, the samecomponents are assigned the same reference numerals and signs, anddescription thereof may be simplified or omitted.

The accessory 401 of the present embodiment has a light-emittingfunction, and can illuminate a subject. The camera 10 communicates withthe accessory 401, and can control the accessory 401. The camera system2 can capture an image of a subject through the camera 10, for example,while illuminating the subject using the accessory 401.

As shown in FIG. 29, the accessory 401 includes a first operatingportion 424. The first operating portion 424 is an operation memberoperated by a user in order to detach the accessory 401 from the camerabody 100.

FIG. 30 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration ofthe camera system according to the present embodiment. The accessory 401includes the flash light emitting section 430, the illumination lightemitting section 435, an accessory control section 440, a nonvolatilememory 445, and a setting section 461. The illumination light emittingsection 435, the accessory control section 440, the nonvolatile memory445, and the setting section 461 are received in, for example, theaccessory main body 410 shown in FIGS. 28 and 29. A detailed descriptionof the accessory 401 will be made later.

In the terminal arrangement shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 31, the powerterminal Tp11 and the power terminal Tp12 is disposed biased to one side(−X side) in the array direction (X-axis direction) of a plurality ofterminals of the terminal section 25. In other words, the power terminalTp11 and the power terminal Tp12 are disposed against one end (powerterminal Tp12 side) in the arrangement of twelve terminals of theterminal section 25. The power terminal Tp11 and the power terminal Tp12are disposed side by side in order from one end (power terminal Tp12side) in the arrangement of twelve terminals of the terminal section 25.

The ground terminal Tp1 and the ground terminal Tp2 are disposed biasedto the other side (+X side) in the array direction (X-axis direction) ofa plurality of terminals of the terminal section 25. In other words, theground terminal Tp1 and the ground terminal Tp2 are disposed against theother end (end on the side opposite to the arrangement side of the powerterminal Tp11 and the power terminal Tp12, that is, the ground terminalTp1 side) in the arrangement of twelve terminals of the terminal section25. The ground terminal Tp1 and the ground terminal Tp2 are disposedside by side in order from the other end (power terminal Tp1 side) inthe arrangement of twelve terminals of the terminal section 25.

In this manner, in the above-mentioned terminal arrangement, at leastany one terminal of the power terminal and the ground terminal includesa plurality of terminals lined up in order at one end in the arraydirection of twelve terminals of the terminal section 25. Meanwhile, theother terminal opposite to one terminal may be formed similarly to theone terminal.

The power terminal includes, for example, the power terminal Tp11 andthe power terminal Tp12, and is lined up in order at one end in thearray direction of twelve terminals of the terminal section 25. Thepower terminal Tp11 and the power terminal Tp12 are electricallyconnected to each other.

The ground terminal includes, for example, the ground terminal Tp1 andthe ground terminal Tp2, and is lined up in order at the other end inthe array direction of twelve terminals of the terminal section 25. Theground terminal Tp1 and the ground terminal Tp2 are electricallyconnected to each other.

Next, the configuration on the accessory 401 side will be described withreference to FIG. 31. The accessory 401 includes the flash lightemitting section 430, the illumination light emitting section 435, theaccessory control section 440, the nonvolatile memory 445, a first powersource section (power source section 1) 450-1, a second power sourcesection (power source section 2) 450-2, and the setting section 461. Theaccessory 401 cannot have a battery built-in.

The nonvolatile memory 445 can hold information even in a state wherepower is not supplied to the accessory 401. The nonvolatile memory 445includes at least one of a memory which is capable of rewriting storeddata and a memory (for example, ROM) which is not capable of rewritingstored data. The nonvolatile memory 445 stores a program for operatingthe accessory control section 440, or information such as informationindicating the states (initial state and various setting states of theaccessory presently set in a memory within the accessory control section440) of the accessory 401 and information indicating the states (initialstate and setting state) of the camera acquired from the camera 10.

The setting section 461 includes a first terminal and a second terminal,and gives rise to a predetermined potential difference (setting voltageVoff) between the first terminal and the second terminal. For example,the setting section 461 may be configured to connect a semiconductordevice such as a diode between the first terminal and the secondterminal. As a more specific connection aspect in the setting section461, an anode terminal of the diode is connected to the first terminal,and a cathode terminal of the diode is connected to the second terminal.In this manner, when it is configured to connect the semiconductordevice such as the diode between the first terminal and the secondterminal, a specific potential difference due to the semiconductordevice occurs between the first terminal and the second terminal.Alternatively, the setting section 461 may be configured so that thefirst terminal and the second terminal are connected therebetween. Whenit is configured so that the first terminal and the second terminal areconnected therebetween, a potential difference does not occur betweenthe first terminal and the second terminal. In this manner, even whenthe potential difference does not occur between the first terminal andthe second terminal, the setting section 461 includes it as apredetermined potential difference. For example, when the secondterminal of the setting section 461 is connected to the referencepotential line 480 and the potential of the second terminal serves as areference potential, the potential of the first terminal becomes higherthan the reference potential by a predetermined potential (settingvoltage Voff) which is set by the setting section 461.

The accessory control section 440 includes a CPU that controls theoperations of the components of the accessory 401 on the basis of aprogram stored in the nonvolatile memory 445, and electronic parts suchas an ASIC. The accessory control section 440 communicates with thecamera control section 170 through the terminal section 423 and theterminal section 25. The accessory control section 440 can sendaccessory initial state information stored in the nonvolatile memory 445or at least one information item of various types of information itemsincluded in accessory setting state information to the camera controlsection 170. In addition, the accessory control section 440 storesinformation received from the camera control section 170 in thenonvolatile memory 445.

Next, the terminal section 423 of the accessory 401 will be described.As shown in FIGS. 5 and 31, when the accessory 401 is mounted to thecamera 10, the terminal section 423 is electrically connected to theterminal section 25 of the camera 10. The terminal section 423 includesa plurality of (twelve) terminals indicated by signs Ts1 to sign Ts12.Herein, the number indicating the alignment order of the terminalsdescribed next is a number ascending from one side (+X side) in thearray direction (X-axis direction) of the terminals toward the otherside (−X side).

A reference potential terminal Ts3 and a reference potential terminalTs5 are terminals of which the potential serves as a reference potential(signal ground) for performing transmission and reception of a signal.In addition, the reference potential terminal Ts3 and the referencepotential terminal Ts5 serve as ground terminals for a circuit (lightload section of the load section 30 such as the accessory controlsection 440, the first power source section 450-1, and the second powersource section 450-2) within the accessory 401. Meanwhile, when thepotential of the reference potential terminal Ts3 and the referencepotential terminal Ts5 is connected to the camera body 100, thepotential serves as a potential of the ground terminal for a circuit(light load section of the camera control section 170, the power sourcesection 32, and the load section 30) within the camera body 100.

The power terminal Ts11 and the power terminal Ts12 are disposed againstone end (power terminal Ts12 side) in the terminal arrangement of theterminal section 423. The power terminal Ts11 and the power terminalTs12 are disposed side by side in order from one end (power terminalTs12 side) in the arrangement of twelve terminals of the terminalsection 423.

The ground terminal Ts1 and the ground terminal Ts2 are disposed againstthe other end (end on the side opposite to the arrangement side of thepower terminal Ts11 and the power terminal Ts12, that is, the groundterminal Tp1 side) in the terminal arrangement of the terminal section423. The ground terminal Ts1 and the ground terminal Ts2 are disposedside by side in order from the other end (power terminal Ts1 side) inthe arrangement of twelve terminals of the terminal section 423.

In this manner, in the above-mentioned terminal arrangement, at leastone terminal of the power terminal and the ground terminal includes aplurality of terminals lined up in order at one end in the arraydirection of twelve terminals of the terminal section 423.

The power terminal includes, for example, the power terminal Ts11 andthe power terminal Ts12, and is lined up in order at one end in thearray direction of twelve terminals of the terminal section 423. Thepower terminal Ts11 and the power terminal Ts12 are electricallyconnected to each other.

The ground terminal includes, for example, the ground terminal Ts1 andthe ground terminal Ts2, and is lined up in order at the other end inthe array direction of twelve terminals of the terminal section 423. Theground terminal Ts1 and the ground terminal Ts2 are electricallyconnected to each other.

In this manner, in the power terminal and the ground terminal, each ofthe terminals is electrically connected to each other, and a circuitrouted through a plurality of terminals is parallelized. In theaccessory 401, the circuit routed through a plurality of terminals isparallelized, so that the circuit is made redundant and thus reliabilityis enhanced.

Next, the connection relationship of each of the components in theaccessory 401 will be described with reference to FIG. 31.

The ground terminal Ts1 and the ground terminal Ts2 are connected toeach other through a connection pattern shown in FIG. 31. When theaccessory 401 is connected to the camera 10, the ground terminal Ts1 andthe ground terminal Ts2 are connected to the grounding line 43 on thecamera 10 side through the terminals Tp1 and Tp2 on the camera 10 side.The ground terminal Ts1 and the ground terminal Ts2 are ground terminalsfor the circuit (charging section 432) on the accessory 401 side inwhich the power PWR is used, terminals serving as a reference potentialof a supplied voltage in the accessory 401 side, and terminals servingas a reference potential of a charging voltage.

The reference potential terminal Ts3 and the reference potentialterminal Ts5 is connected through a connection line as shown in FIG. 31.The reference potential terminal Ts3 and the reference potentialterminal Ts5 is connected in parallel to the reference potential line480 (SGND). When the accessory 401 is connected to the camera 10, thereference potential line 480 is connected to the grounding line (SGND)42 on the camera 10 side through the reference potential terminal Ts3and Ts5, and the terminal Tp3 and Tp5 on the camera 10 side. Thereference potential terminal Ts3 and the reference potential terminalTs5 is a terminal serving as a reference potential for performingtransmission and reception of a signal, in each circuit within theaccessory 401 (nonvolatile memory 445, first power source section 450-1,second power source section 450-2, accessory control section 440, andillumination light emitting section 435).

The startup state providing terminal Ts7 is connected to the firstterminal of the setting section 461, and the second terminal of thesetting section 461 is connected to the reference potential terminal Ts3through the reference potential line 480 (SGND).

In the mounted state, the reference potential terminal Ts3 is connectedto the reference potential terminal Tp3 of the camera 10. In the mountedstate, the potential of the reference potential terminal Ts3 serves as apotential in accordance with the potential of the reference potentialterminal Tp3.

In the mounted state, the reference potential terminal Ts5 is connectedto the reference potential terminal Tp5 of the camera 10. In the mountedstate, the potential of the reference potential terminal Ts5 serves as apotential in accordance with the potential of the reference potentialterminal Tp5.

In the state where the accessory 401 is mounted to the camera 10, thestartup state providing terminal Ts7 provides a level based on thepotential of the reference potential line 480 which is connected to thegrounding line 42. The startup state providing terminal Ts7 is connectedto the first terminal of the setting section 461 through the signalline. The second terminal of the setting section 461 is connected to thereference potential line 480. In this manner, the voltage of the startupstate providing terminal Ts7 outputs a potential causing the differenceof the setting voltage Voff which is set by the setting section 461 tooccur with respect to the potential of the reference potential line 480.

For this reason, when the accessory is in a state (hereinafter, referredto as the first state) where it is connected to the camera 10, thecamera control section 170 can detect the startup detection level DET(SGND level/reference potential level/Low level/L level) indicating thefirst state, through the startup state providing terminal Ts7 and thestartup state detecting terminal Tp7. When the startup detection levelDET indicates the first state, the voltage which is output from thestartup state providing terminal Ts7 becomes a potential obtained byadding the setting voltage Voff to the SGND level. In this manner, evenwhen the voltage is a potential obtained by adding the setting voltageVoff to the SGND level, the setting voltage Voff is set in advance so asto become a voltage as indicating the first state by the determinationin the camera control section 170. For example, the setting voltage Voffmay be 0 V (volt), or may be a voltage based on a forward bias voltageVf of the diode.

In addition, when the accessory 401 is in a state (hereinafter, referredto as the second state below) where it is not mounted to the camera 10,the camera control section 170 can detect the startup detection levelDET of which the level is electrically different from that in the firststate.

However, generally, when the camera system making use of the accessoryat the time of capturing an image cannot detect a state where theaccessory is connected to the camera, there is a possibility that camerasystem is not stably operated by erroneously determining a state wherethe accessory is connected to the camera. There is also a possibilitythat the camera system does not respond to a user's operation or causesa response delay due to, for example, an unstable operation, therebyreducing convenience.

On the other hand, the camera 10 of the present embodiment includes thecamera control section 170 that detects the connection (mounting) of theaccessory 401. In addition, the accessory 401 includes a configurationthat causes the camera control section 170 to detect the connection(mounting) of the accessory 401. The configuration for detecting theconnection (mounting) of the accessory 401 is provided in accordancewith the configuration of the camera control section 170.

As shown in FIG. 31, in the camera 10, a voltage is applied to thestartup state detecting terminal Tp7 connected to the camera controlsection 170 through a pull-up resistor. In a state where the startupstate detecting terminal Tp7 is not connected to the startup stateproviding terminal Ts7 of the accessory 401, the potential of thestartup state detecting terminal Tp7, that is, the startup detectionlevel DET is in an H (high) level. The H level is set to, for example, ahigher potential that a L (low) level based on the reference potentialSGND of the grounding line 42.

In the accessory 401, the startup state providing terminal Ts7 isconnected to the above-mentioned reference potential line 480 throughthe setting section 461. When the connector 420 is in a state where itis connected to the shoe seat 15 (FIG. 28) of the camera 10 (camera body100), the reference potential line 480 is electrically connected to thegrounding line (SGND/signal ground) 42 of the camera 10 (camera body100) as mentioned previously.

In a state (mounted state) where the connector 420 is connected to theshoe seat 15, the potential of the startup state providing terminal Ts7is changed to an L (low) level on the basis of the potential of thegrounding line 42 of the camera body 100. The camera system 2 havingsuch a configuration can detect a state where the accessory 401 isconnected to the camera 10. The camera system 2 can easily detect astate where the accessory 401 is connected to the camera 10, and canrapidly perform a process based on the connection state. Thereby, it ispossible to enhance convenience of the camera system 2.

In addition, the accessory 401 includes the setting section 461. Theaccessory includes the setting section 461, and thus in theinterconnection from the startup state providing terminal Ts7 to thereference potential line 480, the interconnection length from thesetting section 461 to the reference potential line 480 is easily madeshorter than the interconnection length from the startup state providingterminal Ts7 to the setting section 461. In this manner, theinterconnection length of the reference potential line 480 is set to beshort, and thus it is possible to reduce the amount of noise to be mixedinto the voltage of the reference potential line 480, and to perform astable operation without malfunction.

According to the present embodiment, the camera system 2 having highconvenience, that is, the camera 10 and the accessory 401 can be formed.

Third Embodiment

A third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 32. The samecomponents from FIG. 28 to FIG. 31 are assigned the same referencesigns. In addition, when particularly not clarified, the accessory 401(FIG. 31) is replaced with an accessory 401A.

FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the accessory 401Aaccording to the present embodiment, and a connection relationshipbetween the accessory 401A and the camera 10 (camera body 100 and imagecapture lens 200 mentioned above).

The accessory 401A according to the present embodiment includes aterminal section 423A instead of the terminal section 423 (FIG. 31) ofthe accessory 401, and a setting section 461A instead of the settingsection 461.

The setting section 461A is equivalent to the setting section 461 in theabove-mentioned accessory 401. The setting section 461A includes a firstterminal and a second terminal, and gives rise to a predeterminedpotential difference (setting voltage Voff) between the first terminaland the second terminal. For example, when the second terminal of thesetting section 461A is connected to the reference potential terminalTs5 and the potential of the second terminal serves as a referencepotential, the potential of the first terminal becomes higher than thereference potential by a predetermined potential (setting voltage Voff)which is set by the setting section 461.

The terminal section 423A is equivalent to the terminal section 423 inthe above-mentioned accessory 401. The reference potential terminal Ts5and the startup state providing terminal Ts7 in the terminal section423A are different from those in the terminal section 423, and each ofthe other terminals is the same as those of the terminal section 423 inthe above-mentioned accessory 401.

The reference potential terminal Ts5 and the startup state providingterminal Ts7 in the terminal section 423A will be described below. Thestartup state providing terminal Ts7 is a terminal that supplies theaforementioned startup detection level DET to the camera 10. Forexample, as shown in this drawing, the startup state providing terminalTs7 is connected to the first terminal of the setting section 461A, andthe second terminal of the setting section 461A is connected to thereference potential terminal Ts5. In addition, the reference potentialterminal Ts5 supplies a predetermined potential, based on a potentialsupplied to the terminal, to the second terminal of the setting section461A.

The potential of the startup state providing terminal Ts7 becomes higherthan the reference potential by a predetermined potential (settingvoltage Voff) which is set by the setting section 461 from the potentialof the reference potential terminal Ts5. With such a configuration, whenthe accessory 401 is mounted to the camera 10, the potential (level) ofthe startup state providing terminal Ts7 is changed to an L level. Inthis case, even when the level of the startup state providing terminalTs7 becomes higher than the reference potential by the setting voltageVoff, the level is changed to an L level lower than the thresholdvoltage. In the configuration shown in the present embodiment, thestartup state providing terminal Ts7 is also a terminal for providingthe above-mentioned startup detection level DET (reference potentialbased on L level/SGND) to the camera 10.

The camera system 2 having such a configuration can detect a state wherethe accessory 401A is connected to the camera 10. The camera system 2can easily detect a state where the accessory 401A is connected to thecamera 10, and can rapidly perform a process based on the connectionstate. Thereby, it is possible to enhance convenience of the camerasystem 2.

Fourth Embodiment

A fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 33. Thesame components from FIG. 28 to FIG. 31 are assigned the same referencesigns. In addition, when particularly not clarified, the accessory 401(FIG. 31) is replaced with an accessory 401B.

FIG. 33 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the accessory 401Baccording to the present embodiment, and a connection relationshipbetween the accessory 401B and the camera 10 (camera body 100 and imagecapture lens 200 mentioned above).

The accessory 401B according to the present embodiment includes aterminal section 423B instead of the terminal section 423 (FIG. 31) ofthe accessory 401.

The terminal section 423B is equivalent to the terminal section 423 ofthe above-mentioned accessory 401. The terminal section 423B includes aground terminal Ts1-3. The connection destination of the referencepotential terminal Ts5 is different from that of the terminal section423, and each of the other terminals is the same as those of theterminal section 423 in the above-mentioned accessory 401.

The ground terminal Ts1-3 included in the terminal section 423B is aterminal provided instead of the ground terminals Ts1 and Ts2 and thereference potential terminal Ts3 which are included in the terminalsection 423. The grounding line 480 and the ground terminal of thecharging section 432 are connected to the ground terminal Ts1-3.

The reference potential terminal Ts5 is a terminal corresponding to thereference potential terminal Tp5, and is connected to the groundterminal Ts1-3.

The ground terminal Ts1-3 in the terminal section 423B will be describedin detail. The ground terminal Ts1-3 in the terminal section 423Bcorresponds to the ground terminals Ts1 and Ts2 and the referencepotential terminal Ts3 in the terminal section 423. The ground terminalTs1-3 is a terminal in which the ground terminals Ts1 and Ts2 and thereference potential terminal Ts3 in the terminal section 423 areconnected to each other. The ground terminal Ts1-3 functions as theground terminals Ts1 and Ts2 and the reference potential terminal Ts3 inthe terminal section 423. For example, the connection of each terminalwhen the accessory 401B is connected to the camera 10 is shown. When theaccessory 401B is connected to the camera 10, the ground terminal Ts1-3is connected to the ground terminals Tp1 and Tp2 and the referencepotential terminal Tp3 in the terminal section 25, as in the groundterminals Ts1 and Ts2 and the reference potential terminal Ts3 in theterminal section 423.

The ground terminal Ts1-3 is not separated as in the ground terminalsTs1 and Ts2 and the reference potential terminal Ts3 in the terminalsection 423. For this reason, the ground terminal Ts1-3 short-circuitsthe grounding line 42 and the grounding line 43 in the camera 10 to eachother in the ground terminal Ts1-3. When the configuration is made inthis manner, a current flowing to the grounding line 42 and a currentflowing to the grounding line 43 in the camera 10 cannot be separatedfrom each other in accordance with the characteristics of the load.Since currents flowing to each of the grounding lines cannot beseparated from each other in accordance with the characteristics of theload, noise tolerance is lower than that in the configuration shown inthe other embodiments, but this can be addressed by the configuration ofthe accessory 401B.

In a state where the accessory 401 is mounted to the camera 10, thestartup state providing terminal Ts7 in the present embodiment providesa level based on the potential of the reference potential line 480 whichis connected to the grounding line 42 (grounding line 43). The startupstate providing terminal Ts7 is connected to the first terminal of thesetting section 461 through the signal line. The second terminal of thesetting section 461 is connected to the reference potential line 480. Inthis manner, the voltage of the startup state providing terminal Ts7outputs a potential causing the difference of the setting voltage Voffwhich is set by the setting section 461 to occur with respect to thepotential of the reference potential line 480.

For this reason, when the accessory is in a state (hereinafter, referredto as the first state) where it is connected to the camera 10, thecamera control section 170 can detect the startup detection level DET(SGND level/reference potential level/Low level/L level) indicating thefirst state, through the startup state providing terminal Ts7 and thestartup state detecting terminal Tp7. In addition, when the accessory401 is in a state (hereinafter, referred to as the second state below)where it is not mounted to the camera 10, the camera control section 170can detect the startup detection level DET of which the level iselectrically different from the first state.

With such a configuration, the camera system 2 can detect a state wherethe accessory 401B is connected to the camera 10. The camera system 2can easily detect a state where the accessory 401B is connected to thecamera 10, and can rapidly perform a process based on the connectionstate. Thereby, it is possible to enhance convenience of the camerasystem 2.

The camera system 2 having such a configuration can detect a state wherethe accessory 401 is connected to the camera 10. The camera system 2 caneasily detect a state where an accessory 401C is connected to the camera10, and can rapidly perform a process based on the connection state.Thereby, it is possible to enhance convenience of the camera system 2.

Meanwhile, it is possible to select any embodiment of each of theembodiments shown in FIG. 31 to FIG. 33.

Meanwhile, in the camera 10, the potential of the reference potentialterminal Tp3 and the reference potential terminal Tp5 can also be usedother than the reference potential SGND. For example, any one terminalof the reference potential terminal Tp3 and the reference potentialterminal Tp5 in the camera 10 (10C) may be a terminal of which apotential serves as a potential different from the reference potentialSGND (signal ground). Alternatively, any one terminal of the referencepotential terminal Tp3 and the reference potential terminal Tp5 may be aterminal of which a potential serves as a potential same as that of thehousing of the camera body 100. Alternatively, any one terminal of thereference potential terminal Tp3 and the reference potential terminalTp5 may be a test signal terminal used in testing the accessory 401 fromthe camera body 100. Alternatively, any one terminal of the referencepotential terminal Tp3 and the reference potential terminal Tp5 may be aterminal supplied with a signal having a small change. Alternatively,any one terminal of the reference potential terminal Tp3 and thereference potential terminal Tp5 may be a terminal insulated from acircuit within the accessory 401.

Meanwhile, as shown in the above-mentioned embodiment, the terminalsupplied with a reference potential of the potential of the startupstate providing terminal Ts7 is described as any terminal of theterminals included in the terminal section 432, but may be a terminal asfollows.

For example, in a state where the accessory 401 is mounted to the camera10, an electrode included in the connector 420 of the accessory 401C iselectrically connected so that it serves as a potential (FGND) of aconductive portion which is a portion of the housing of the camera 10.When the conductive portion which is a portion of the housing of thecamera 10 is provided to the shoe seat 15 of the camera 10, theabove-mentioned electrode is provided to the connector 420 so as to beelectrically connected to the conductive portion which is a portion ofthe housing. With such a configuration, the accessory 401 is justmounted to the shoe seat 15, thereby allowing the accessory to bebrought into contact with the conductive portion (for example, a portionof the bottom plate portion 21, the top plate portion 22, the side plateportion 23 and the like of the shoe seat 15 for locking the connector420) which is a portion of the above-mentioned housing without providingother interconnections.

In addition, the conductive portion which is a portion of theabove-mentioned housing is connected to a negative electrode of thebattery BAT, and serves as the potential FGND of the conductive portionwhich is a portion of the housing of the camera 10.

In a state where the accessory 401C is mounted to a camera 10C, thestartup state providing terminal Ts7 provides a level based on thepotential FGND of the conductive portion which is a portion of thehousing of the camera 10. In this manner, the voltage of the startupstate providing terminal Ts7 outputs a potential causing the differenceof the setting voltage Voff which is set by the setting section 461 withrespect to the potential FGND.

For this reason, when the accessory 401 is in a state (hereinafter,referred to as the first state) where it is connected to the camera 10,the camera control section 170 can detect the startup detection levelDET (SGND level/reference potential level/Low level/L level) indicatingthe first state, through the startup state providing terminal Ts7 andthe startup state detecting terminal Tp7. When the startup detectionlevel DET indicates the first state, the voltage which is output fromthe startup state providing terminal Ts7 becomes a potential obtained byadding the setting voltage Voff to the FGND level which changesdepending on the SGND level. In this manner, even when the voltage is apotential obtained by adding the setting voltage Voff to the FGND level,the setting voltage Voff is set in advance so as to become a voltage asindicating the first state by the determination in the camera controlsection 170. For example, the setting voltage Voff may be 0 V (volt), ormay be a voltage based on a forward bias voltage Vf of the diode.

In addition, when the accessory 401C is in a state (hereinafter,referred to as the second state below) where it is not mounted to thecamera 10C, the camera control section 170 can detect the startupdetection level DET of which the level is electrically different fromthe first state.

As stated above, in the camera 10 and the accessory 401 (400A and 400B),it is possible to enhance reliability of the transmission of a clocksignal in the clock signal terminals (Tp4 and Ts4). Thereby, in thecamera 10 and the accessory 401 (400A and 400B), it is possible tosuppress the occurrence of malfunction, and to enhance convenience ofthe camera system 2. In addition, since the camera 10, the shoe seat 15,and the connector 420 are all formed in the terminal arrangement asmentioned above, it is possible to enhance convenience of the camerasystem 2.

In this manner, for example, when a user attempts to detach theaccessory 401 from the camera 10, the camera system 2 performs theprocess (termination process mentioned above) necessary to terminate theprocess of the accessory 401. Therefore, the camera system can preservethe setting or the history of the accessory 401, and thus is a systemhaving high convenience.

Meanwhile, the technical scope of the invention is not limited to theabove-mentioned embodiment. At least one of the constituent elementsdescribed in the above-mentioned embodiment may be omitted. Theconstituent elements described in the above-mentioned embodiment may beappropriately combined.

Meanwhile, the camera body 100 and the accessory 401 have the computersystem therein. The sequences of the operations of the function sectionsare stored in a program form in a computer-readable recording medium andthe processes are performed by causing a computer system to read out andexecute the program. The term “computer system” herein includes a CPU,various types of memory or OS, and hardware such as peripheral devices.

In addition, the “computer system” also includes a homepage providingenvironment (or a display environment) when the WWW system is used. Inaddition, examples of the “computer-readable recording medium” includeportable mediums such as a flexible disk, a magnetooptic disc, a ROM,and a CD-ROM and a storage device such as a hard disk built in thecomputer system. Furthermore, examples of the “computer-readablerecording medium” include mediums dynamically storing a program in ashort period of time like networks such as the Internet or communicationlines when transmitting a program via communication lines such astelephone lines and mediums storing a program in a given period of timesuch as a volatile memory in a computer system serving as a server or aclient in that case. The program may realize some of the above-mentionedfunctions or the above-mentioned functions may be realized through acombination with the program previously recorded in the computer system.

What is claimed is:
 1. An accessory capable of communicating with acamera, the accessory comprising: a terminal section having a pluralityof terminals, wherein the plurality of terminals include a startup stateproviding terminal that provides, to the camera, a detection level bywhich the camera detects that the accessory is capable of being startedup, and a plurality of communication terminals that perform thecommunication, wherein a terminal out of the communication terminals,which performs a communication of a signal which has a possibility tocause a malfunction due to an electric noise, is disposed adjacent tothe startup state providing terminal.
 2. An accessory capable ofcommunicating with a camera, the accessory comprising: a terminalsection having a plurality of terminals, wherein the plurality ofterminals include a startup state providing terminal that provides, tothe camera, a detection level by which the camera detects that theaccessory is capable of being started up, a light emission controlsignal terminal to which a light emission control signal for controllinga light-emitting state of a light-emitting section is input from thecamera, and a communication control signal terminal to which acommunication control signal that sets a timing for communicating a datasignal including information regarding the accessory to and from thecamera is input from the camera, wherein the startup state providingterminal is disposed adjacent to the light emission control signalterminal, and the communication control signal terminal is adjacent tothe light emission control signal terminal, and is disposed with thelight emission control signal terminal interposed between the startupstate providing terminal and the communication control signal terminal.3. An accessory which is controlled by a control signal supplied from acamera, the accessory comprising: a terminal section having a pluralityof terminals, wherein the plurality of terminals include a startup stateproviding terminal that provides, to the camera, a detection level bywhich the camera detects that the accessory is capable of being startedup, and a terminal which is disposed next to the startup state providingterminal, out of the plurality of terminals, is a terminal capable ofmaintaining a level state which is not considered to be the detectionlevel in the startup state providing terminal, when short-circuited tothe startup state providing terminal.
 4. The accessory according toclaim 3, wherein each of the terminals disposed next to opposite sidesof the startup state providing terminal, out of the plurality ofterminals, is a terminal capable of maintaining a level state which isnot considered to be the detection level in the startup state providingterminal, when short-circuited to the startup state providing terminal.5. The accessory according to claim 3, further comprising alight-emitting section that emits illumination light, wherein one of theterminals disposed next to the startup state providing terminal, out ofthe plurality of terminals, is a light-emitting signal input terminal towhich a light emission command signal for causing the light-emittingsection to emit light is input from the camera.
 6. The accessoryaccording claim 3, wherein one of the terminals disposed next to thestartup state providing terminal, out of the plurality of terminals, isan information output terminal that outputs at least information of theaccessory side to the camera.
 7. The accessory according to claim 5,wherein a pull-up resistor is connected to a signal line which isconnected to the terminal disposed next to the startup state providingterminal.
 8. The accessory according to claim 3, wherein when theaccessory is mounted to the camera, a level of the detection level isthe same as a signal level indicated by a reference potential of thecontrol signal.
 9. The accessory according to claim 3, wherein thedetection level changes in accordance with attachment and detachment ofthe accessory from the camera.
 10. The accessory according to claim 3,further comprising a first switch section that switches a state of thedetection level in accordance with detachment of the accessory from thecamera.
 11. The accessory according to claim 10, wherein the firstswitch section includes a movable member that moves in a predetermineddirection with respect to the terminal section, and the state of thedetection level is switched by the movement of the movable member in thepredetermined direction.
 12. The accessory according to claim 11,wherein the movable member moves in the predetermined direction by forcereceived from the camera when the accessory is mounted to the camera.13. The accessory according to claim 11, wherein when the accessory ismounted to the camera, the movable member is locked to the camera tothereby regulate the movement of the accessory with respect to thecamera.
 14. The accessory according to claim 11, further comprising anoperating portion that receives an operation for moving the movablemember in the predetermined direction.
 15. The accessory according toclaim 10, further comprising a second switch section that switches thestate of the detection level, wherein the second switch section isconnected to a signal line which is connected to the startup stateproviding terminal in series with the first switch section.
 16. Theaccessory according to claim 15, wherein the second switch sectionfurther comprises an operating portion that receives an operation forswitching the state of the detection level.
 17. The accessory accordingto claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of terminals includes a linearshape, and is formed so as to be connected to the correspondingterminals on the camera side, in the vicinity of the tip of the linearshape.
 18. A camera that supplies a control signal for controlling anaccessory to the accessory, the camera comprising: a terminal sectionhaving a plurality of terminals, wherein the plurality of terminalsinclude a startup state detecting terminal to which a detection level,by which the camera detects that the accessory is capable of beingstarted up, is provided from the accessory, and the terminals disposednext to opposite sides of the startup state detecting terminal, out ofthe plurality of terminals, are terminals capable of maintaining a levelstate which is not considered to be the detection level in the startupstate detecting terminal, when short-circuited to the startup statedetecting terminal.
 19. An accessory shoe to and from which an accessorycontrolled by a control signal supplied from a camera is attached anddetached, the accessory shoe comprising: a terminal section having aplurality of terminals, wherein the plurality of terminals include astartup state detecting terminal to which a detection level by which thecamera detects that the accessory is capable of being started up isprovided from the accessory, and the terminals disposed next to oppositesides of the startup state detecting terminal, out of the plurality ofterminals, are terminals capable of maintaining a level state which isnot considered to be the detection level in the startup state detectingterminal, when short-circuited to the startup state detecting terminal.20. A connector capable of being attached to and detached from a cameraso as to attach and detach an accessory controlled by a control signalsupplied from the camera to and from the camera, the connectorcomprising: a terminal section having a plurality of terminals, whereinthe plurality of terminals include a startup state providing terminalthat provides, to the camera, a detection level by which the cameradetects that the accessory is capable of being started up, and aterminal disposed next to the startup state providing terminal, out ofthe plurality of terminals, is a terminal capable of maintaining a levelstate which is not considered to be the detection level in the startupstate providing terminal, when short-circuited to the startup stateproviding terminal.
 21. An accessory capable of being attached to anddetached from a camera, the accessory comprising: a startup stateproviding terminal that provides a detection level by which the cameradetects whether the accessory is capable of being started up, a terminaldifferent from the startup state providing terminal, and a settingsection that sets a state of the detection level so as to indicate thatthe accessory is capable of being started up, in accordance with avoltage level of the different terminal.
 22. The accessory according toclaim 21, wherein when the accessory is mounted to the camera, thedifferent terminal has a first voltage level causing the state of thedetection level to indicate that the accessory is capable of beingstarted up.
 23. The accessory according to claim 22, wherein the startupstate providing terminal provides the detection level indicating thatthe accessory is capable of being started up, in accordance with settingof the voltage level of the different terminal to the first voltagelevel.
 24. The accessory according to claim 22, wherein the settingsection provides the detection level indicating that the accessory iscapable of being started up from the startup state providing terminal,in accordance with setting of the voltage level of the differentterminal to the first voltage level.
 25. The accessory according toclaim 22, wherein the first voltage level is a level of a referencepotential of the detection level.
 26. The accessory according to claim21, further comprising a reference potential terminal having a referencepotential, wherein the reference potential terminal is electricallyconnected to the startup state providing terminal through the differentterminal.
 27. The accessory according to claim 26, wherein the differentterminal is cut off from the reference potential terminal in a directcurrent manner.
 28. The accessory according to claim 26, furthercomprising a terminal section having a plurality of terminals includingthe startup state providing terminal and the reference potentialterminal.
 29. The accessory according to claim 26, wherein when theaccessory is mounted to the camera, the voltage level of the differentterminal is set to a voltage level of a housing portion of the camera.30. The accessory according to claim 29, wherein the different terminalis provided in a position different from that of the terminal sectionhaving the plurality of terminals.
 31. The accessory according to claim26, wherein when the accessory is not mounted to the camera, thedifferent terminal is insulated from the reference potential terminal.32. The accessory according to claim 21, wherein when the accessory ismounted to the camera, a voltage level of the startup state providingterminal is set to the same voltage level as the voltage level of thedifferent terminal.
 33. A camera capable of mounting the accessoryaccording to claim 21, comprising: a startup state detecting terminal towhich the detection level is provided from the accessory, wherein theterminal different from the startup state providing terminal in theaccessory is provided with a predetermined voltage level for setting thestate of the detection level of the startup state detecting terminal.34. An accessory shoe to and from which an accessory capable of beingattached to and detached from a camera is attached and detached,comprising: a startup state detecting terminal to which a detectionlevel is provided from the accessory, wherein a terminal different fromthe startup state providing terminal in the accessory is provided with apredetermined voltage level for setting a state of the detection levelof a startup state detecting terminal.
 35. A connector which is attachedto and detached from a camera that supplies a control signal forcontrolling an accessory to the accessory, the connector comprising: astartup state providing terminal that provides a detection level bywhich the camera detects whether the accessory is capable of beingstarted up, and a terminal different from the startup state providingterminal, wherein a setting section included in the accessory sets astate of the detection level so as to indicate that the accessory iscapable of being started up, in accordance with a voltage level of thedifferent terminal.